title: Effective prophylaxis for recurrent urinary tract infections during pregnancy.
abstract: Effective prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) and possible acute pyelonephritis is of major importance during pregnancy. During 39 pregnancies, 33 women with a history of recurrent UTIs (and, in some instances, pyelonephritis) received postcoital prophylaxis consisting of a single oral dose of either cephalexin (250 mg) or nitrofurantoin macrocrystals (50 mg). While 130 UTIs occurred during a mean observation period of 7 months before prophylaxis, only a single UTI occurred during pregnancy after prophylaxis; this difference was highly significant. Thus the use of one of these effective regimens is strongly recommended for any pregnant woman with a history of recurrent UTIs. The treatment's effectiveness can be explained by two features of the two antibacterial agents involved: both reach high bactericidal concentrations in the urinary tract and induce no (or minimal) resistance in the introital gram-negative bacterial flora.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pfau
authors.forename: T G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Sacks
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D002506:Cephalexin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004756:Enterobacteriaceae Infections / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D009582:Nitrofurantoin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011704:Pyelonephritis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012008:Recurrence; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D009582:Nitrofurantoin; D002506:Cephalexin