A total of 102 women with recurrent urinary tract infections were included in this open randomized study; 55 received 200 mg of norfloxacin daily and 47 received 50 mg of nitrofurantoin daily over 6 months. Fifty-three and 41 women from the norfloxacin- and nitrofurantoin-treated groups, respectively, completed the 6-month follow-up period. Forty-four (81%) of the norfloxacin-treated patients and 27 (65%) of the nitrofurantoin-treated patients remained free of symptoms (P = 0.05), and urine samples from 49 (92.4%) and 29 (70.7%) of the patients, respectively, were sterile (P less than 0.005). Side effects occurred with similar frequencies in both groups (15 and 17%) but were more severe in the women who received nitrofurantoin. Despite the better results obtained with norfloxacin, the difference in the costs of the two agents must be considered.
Female Humans