Thanks for your discussion on UTI. Women and older adults are at a higher risk for UTIs. Many people are prone to recurrent UTIs. Proper management and prevention is essential. UTI may be either cystitis (lower UTI) or pyelonephritis (upper UTI). The most common offending uropathogen in sporadic and recurrent UTIs is Escherichia coli or E. coli. Other bacteria that commonly are the offending organisms are Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Proteus mirabilis (Aydin, Ahmed, Zaman, Khan, & Dasgupta 2014).
With recurrent UTIs, prophylaxis is often necessary. One particular prophylaxis treatment that may be recommended is consumption of cranberry juice or tablets. While some studies indicate that cranberry juice inhibits adherence of pathogens to the uroepithelial cells, effectiveness of cranberry juice as prevention of UTIs remains debated. With conflicting data regarding effectiveness among many studies, the provider will have to decide if recommending cranberry juice for prophylaxis will be a part of a patient’s treatment plan. What would be your recommendations for the patient with recurrent UTI & why?
