Preventive measures for the urinary tract infections recurrence in non-pregnant women

S.I. Gamidov, T.V. Shatylko, N.G. Gasanov

National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology named after V.I. Kulakov, Moscow

The majority of women suffer at least one episode of urinary tract infection (UTI) throughout life, about 25% suffer recurrent UTI within six months and about 40% — within 1 year. Recurrent UTI (RUTI) in women may be associated with anatomical disorders, hormonal imbalances, and sexual activity peculiarities. They significantly diminish the patient quality of life and are fraught with a transition to life-threatening and potentially disabling infectious and inflammatory diseases of the upper urinary tract. Prevention of this condition can be carried out by various dietary supplements, phytotherapeutic agents, and hormones use. Long-term use of antimicrobial drugs in low doses is also a traditional alternative for RUTI prevention. The most popular non-drug products are D-mannose and cranberry extract. This article presents a brief description of the preve ntive measures for RUTI and compares them. Preparations of D-mannose, fosfomycin, and nitrofurantoin are recommended for long-term RUTI prophylaxis. D-Mannose-based dietary supplements seem optimal for the frontline RUTI prevention in most women, given the minimal incidence of adverse events and the most physiological mechanism of action in this substance. It is advisable to add fosfomycin 3 g per month to the RUTI prevention regimen if this approach is ineffective.

Keywords: urinary tract infections, recurrence, prophylaxis, cystitis, fosfomycin, D-mannose, Ecofomural, Ecocystin.

For citation: Gamidov S.I., Shatylko T.V., Gasanov N.G. Preventive measures for the urinary tract infections recurrence in non-pregnant women. RMJ. 2019;4:72–75.