Urinary Tract Infection - Treatment

(Page 2)

After a week of antibiotic treatment, most patients are free of infection. If the symptoms do not clear up within the first few days of therapy, doctors generally suggest that women discontinue their antibiotic and provide a urine sample for culturing in order to identify the specific organism causing the condition.

Treatment for Relapsing Infection. A relapsing infection (caused by treatment failure) occurs within 3 weeks in about 10% of women. Relapse is treated similarly to a first infection, but the antibiotics are usually continued for 7 - 14 days. (Relapsing infections may be due to structural abnormalities, abscesses, or other problems that may require surgery, and such conditions should be ruled out.)

---

---

Treatment for Recurrent Infections

Women who have two or more symptomatic UTIs within six months or three or more over the course of a year may need preventive antibiotics. A woman's own perception of discomfort can generally guide her decisions on whether or not to use preventive antibiotics. All women should use lifestyle measures to prevent recurrences.

Intermittent Self Treatment. Many, if not most, women with recurrent UTIs can effectively self-treat recurrent UTIs without going to a doctor. In general, this requires the following steps:

• As soon as the patient develops symptoms, she takes the antibiotic. Infections that occur less than twice a year are usually treated as if they were an initial attack, with single-dose or 3-day antibiotic regimens.
• In some cases, she also performs a clean-catch urine test before starting antibiotics and sends it to the doctor for culturing to confirm the infection.

A woman should consult a doctor under the following circumstances:

• If symptoms have not gone away within 48 hours
• If there is a change in symptoms
• If the patient suspects that she is pregnant
• If the patient has more than four infections a year

Women who are not good candidates for self-treatment are those with impaired immune systems, previous kidney infections, structural abnormalities of the urinary tract, or a history of infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria.