Suppression and treatment of urinary tract infection in patients with an intermittently catheterized neurogenic bladder.

We evaluated the optimal means of prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections in 46 patients with an intermittently catheterized neurogenic bladder. Suppression with nightly 160 mg. trimethoprim and 800 mg. sulfamethoxazole compared to placebo showed no difference in the rate of symptomatic or total urinary tract infections. Symptomatic urinary tract infections occurred at the same rate whether routine asymptomatic infections were treated or not. Three-day antibiotic treatment of urinary tract infections showed no decrease in the frequency of symptomatic or total urinary tract infections compared to 10-day therapy. The frequency of post-treatment urinary tract infection persistence, relapse and cure was identical in both groups. Suppressive antibiotics, treatment of asymptomatic urinary tract infections and full course antibiotic therapy offered no advantage over placebo, treatment of symptomatic urinary tract infection only and short course therapy in the management of urinary tract infection in patients with an intermittently catheterized neurogenic bladder.