Vaginal Estrogen as First-Line Therapy for Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections in Postmenopausal Women and Risk Factors for Needing Additional Therapy.

OBJECTIVES

This retrospective cohort study aims to determine the proportion of postmenopausal women with recurrent urinary tract infections (rUTIs) who improve with vaginal estrogen cream alone and to identify risk factors for those who go on to require additional therapies.

METHODS

Postmenopausal women presenting with rUTIs seen at a single institution over a 29-month period were identified. Patients who had not undergone previous treatment and were started on vaginal estrogen cream alone as first-line therapy were included in the study. Descriptive statistics were used to compare demographic and clinical characteristics between therapy groups. Log-binomial regression was used to explore the association between treatment failure (ie, the need for additional therapy for rUTIs) and patient sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

RESULTS

During the study period, 167 patients with rUTIs met inclusion criteria. Of these, 67.7% noted improvement or resolution in their symptoms with vaginal estrogen cream alone. Women with a concomitant diagnosis of urinary incontinence, as defined as subjective report of bothersome stress or urgency urinary incontinence, were 2.3 times more likely to need additional therapy compared with women not reporting urinary incontinence (relative risk, 2.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-4.90).

CONCLUSIONS

Sixty-eight percent of postmenopausal women with rUTIs treated with vaginal estrogen alone did not go on to receive additional therapy. A risk factor for needing additional therapy in our study population is the presence of urinary incontinence.