Current Antibiotic Therapy for Isolated Urinary Tract Infections in Women

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a commonly encountered problem among women treated in ambulatory care settings. It is estimated that one third of women will have been treated for at least one UTI by the age of 26 years, a figure that increases to approximately 60% during a woman's lifetime.1,2Escherichia coli has been shown to cause approximately 80% of outpatient UTIs in otherwise healthy people.3 National estimates showed that sulfa antibiotics, such as a combination product of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, were the dominant UTI treatment as late as 1995-1996.4 However, because the prevalence of resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole among E coli has been increasing, some experts now suggest that trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole should not be considered a first-line agent in areas where the prevalence of resistant E coli exceeds 15% to 20%.5,6