Abstract
290 patients with recurrent urinary tract infection were treated with either placebo, methenamine hippurate, nitrofurantoin or trimethoprim. 38.9% of the patients had chronic pyelonephritis and 23.8% azotemia. During the follow-up period of 1 year 63.2% recurred in the placebo group, 34.2% in the methenamine hippurate group, 25.0% in the nitrofurantoin group and 10.4% in the trimethoprim group. 62.5% of the recurrences in the trimethoprim group were associated with trimethoprim-resistant strains. However, such strains appeared only in 6.5% of the patients treated with trimethoprim, compared with 16.2% in the placebo, 8.3% in the nitrofurantoin and 11.0% in the methenamine hippurate groups. Side-effects were mild and occurred most frequently in the nitrofurantoin group (13.9%).