TREATMENT OF URINARY INFECTIONS WITH NITROFURANTOIN (FURADANTIN)

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Abstract
SUMMARY: Nitrofurantoin has established itself in the treatment of urinary infections. Its effects in sensitivity tests in vitroagainst the organisms which invade the urinary tract are of a high order, and it is superior to many antibiotics and sulphonamides. It is of particular use in Proteus infections.It is a safe drug to administer, since reactions are few, and as yet no fatal cases have been recorded in the literature which could be ascribed specifically to its use.Nitrofurantoin is rapidly excreted in the urine, reaches antibacterial levels within thirty minutes of oral administration, and is largely eliminated within six to eight hours. It appears to be more effective in acid urine and more soluble in alkaline urine.The blood level is low (0.2 mg. per 100 ml.) and has been challenged as perhaps too low for adequate treatment of fulminating systemic infections, yet the therapeutic response appears satisfactory.The results of sensitivity tests in vitrowith nitrofurantoin are compared with those of the commonly used antibiotics and sulphonamides. A report on the use of nitrofurantoin in 145 cases of urinary infection is included. Of these, rather less than one half were acute and the remainder were chronic.The response to treatment was very good in the acute cases and, as well as might be reasonably expected in the chronic cases, in view of the causative factors.

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