This
practice supported a research study called ATAFUTI in 2016. The study was
investigating alternative treatments for urinary tract infections (UTI) in adult
women.
The
results of the study have now been published, based on a total of 382 adult women, aged 18 to 75, who
participated (of which eight women were recruited from this practice).
Participants
were randomly allocated to take a five day course of either a herbal product (Uva ursi extract) or a placebo. In addition, some participants were advised by their GP to
take ibuprofen to help with their symptoms, while others were not. Participants were also given a ‘just in case’
prescription for antibiotics which they were asked to delay using for 3-5 days, unless
their symptoms worsened. The women kept
a diary of their symptoms for 14 days (or until their symptoms subsided) and the
study team monitored whether or not study participants had to see their GP with a
UTI again in the following three months.
Summary of ATAFUTI
findings
The
study found there was no difference in symptom severity between the study
treatment groups and no difference in the duration of moderately bad
symptoms. Overall, less than half of the
women took their ‘just in case’ antibiotics during the first two weeks. No episodes of serious urinary tract
infections were recorded.
Although
the study could not demonstrate any significant effect on symptom severity or time to
recovery for women allocated to either treatment, GP advice to take ibuprofen
resulted in a significant reduction in short term antibiotic use compared to no
such advice.
A
full report on the study can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2019.01.011.
