The purpose of this research study is to determine what the cure rates are with a 5 day
course of nitrofurantoin versus the more standard 3 day course of
trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazone. The study will improve our knowledge of which antibiotic and
what length of therapy is best for treatment of UTI, taking into account the problem of
antibiotic resistance.
Procedures subjects will undergo once they have read and signed the consent are:
Questions about their medical and sexual history and current symptoms of UTI. They will be
asked to provide a urine sample and then randomly assigned to one of the two treatment
groups.
will be obtained at each visit. If they were assigned to the nitrofurantoin treatment
regimen, they will also be asked to collect a urine sample at home on the third day. If the
subject develops recurrent urinary symptoms or does not have resolution of symptoms after
completing the initial treatment course, they will be asked to return to the clinic and
provide another urine sample for analysis. They will then be treated with another standard
antibiotic at no cost to them and will be withdrawn from the study at that time.
The study population is women ages 18-45 with acute symptoms of a UTI without a history of
UTI in the past 6 weeks.