Not all bladder-infection drugs equal

U.S. researchers have found differences in the effectiveness of common medications used to treat bladder infections in women.

Researchers at the University of Washington gave 370 women three days of treatment with either the antibiotic ciproflaxacin or the antibiotic amoxicillin-clavulanate. The women, ages 18 to 34, received the treatments twice daily, after which they were monitored for four months.

The researchers found 77 percent of the women treated with ciproflaxacin saw their urinary-tract infections cleared, compared with 58 percent among the women treated with amoxicillin-clavulanate.

Urinary tract infections are among the most common bacterial infections in women, with amoxicillin-clavulanate the most frequently prescribed antibiotic. Over the years, however, clinicians have detected an increasing microbial resistance to the medication.

The researchers found amoxicillin-clavulanate was not as effective as ciproflaxacin even among women infected with bacterial strains susceptible to amoxicillin-clavulanate -- 60 percent vs. 77 percent.

The difference in clinical cure rates occurred almost entirely within the first two weeks after therapy, the researchers said.

© Copyright 2005 by United Press International