Study participants
lower urinary tract symptoms, malignancy, diabetes mellitus, rUTI, liver or renal insufficiency, systemic infectious disease, neurogenic bladder dysfunction, bladder or kidney stones, UTIs
DIABETES MELLITUS, CONCOMITANT DISEASE, NEUROGENIC BLADDER DYSFUNCTION, UTI, SYSTEMIC INFECTIOUS DISEASE, COMPLICATIONS
Patients of both sexes aged 18–80 years were included if they had at least five symptomatic uncomplicated bacterial UTIs within 12 months prior to study inclusion. In accordance with current literature, UTI diagnosis required a positive urine culture with ≥ 10Exclusion criteria comprised complicated UTI, lower urinary tract symptoms due to other reasons than UTI, neurogenic bladder dysfunction, bladder or kidney stones, residual urine, pregnancy, acute systemic infectious disease, a malignancy in the recent 5 years or radiation therapy of the abdomen (without time limit) or any other body part within the last 5 years, malfunction of immunity due to concomitant diseases such as diabetes mellitus with unstable metabolic status, liver or renal insufficiency, or complications caused by presently used medications. Further exclusion criteria were therapy with StroVac any time prior study inclusion, therapy with antineoplastic agents five years prior study inclusion, therapy with Uro-Vaxom 3 years, instillation therapy 18 months and continuous antibiotic treatment (> 30 days) or postcoital antibiotic treatment six months prior study inclusion. During the time of this study in 2012–2015, D-mannose was not used as prophylactic therapy of rUTI and therefore not permitted. During the study period, concomitant therapy with the above mentioned substances was permitted as well, only antibiotics in case of a necessary treatment of a UTI were allowed.