title: Reduction of bacteriuria and pyuria after ingestion of cranberry juice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the effect of regular intake of cranberry juice beverage on bacteriuria and pyuria in elderly women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Volunteer sample of 153 elderly women (mean age, 78.5 years).
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were randomly assigned to consume 300 mL per day of a commercially available standard cranberry beverage or a specially prepared synthetic placebo drink that was indistinguishable in taste, appearance, and vitamin C content but lacked cranberry content.
  
  
  METHODS
  A baseline urine sample and six clean-voided study urine samples were collected at approximately 1-month intervals and tested quantitatively for bacteriuria and the presence of white blood cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects randomized to the cranberry beverage had odds of bacteriuria (defined as organisms numbering > or = 10(5)/mL) with pyuria that were only 42% of the odds in the control group (P = .004). Their odds of remaining bacteriuric-pyuric, given that they were bacteriuric-pyuric in the previous month, were only 27% of the odds in the control group (P = .006).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that use of a cranberry beverage reduces the frequency of bacteriuria with pyuria in older women. Prevalent beliefs about the effects of cranberry juice on the urinary tract may have microbiologic justification.
authors.affiliation: Program for the Analysis of Clinical Strategies, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Avorn
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monane
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Gurwitz
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Glynn
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Choodnovskiy
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Lipsitz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001437:Bacteriuria / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001628:Beverages; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D011776:Pyuria / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016482:Urinalysis