Cranberry nearly as effective as antibiotic for treating UTIs

Cranberry extract can offer older women a side-effect free alternative to antibiotics for the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs), new research suggests.

Marion McMurdo and colleagues at the University of Dundee in Scotland compared the effectiveness of cranberry extract with low-dose trimethoprim in the prevention of recurrent  UTIs in 137 older women. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 500 mg of cranberry extract or 100 mg of trimethoprim for 6 months.

Results showed that 39 of the 137 participants developed a UTI over the 6-month study period, 25 of which occurred in women receiving cranberry extract and 14 in those receiving trimethoprim. The researchers concluded that trimethoprim has a “very limited” advantage over cranberry extract in preventing UTI, however they add that the antibiotic is associated with “more adverse effects”. “

The authors write: “Our findings will allow older women with recurrent UTIs to weigh up with their clinicians the inherent attractions of a cheap, natural product like cranberry extract whose use does not carry the risk of antimicrobial resistance or super-infection with Clostridium difficile or fungi.”

McMurdo MET, Argo I, Phillips G, daly F, Davey P. Cranberry or trimethoprim for the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections? A randomized controlled trial in older women. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. Advance Access published online on November 28, 2008. doi:10.1093/jac/dkn489