http://reut.rs/1U5nhxF via @Reuters
Effectiveness
of cranberry capsules to prevent urinary tract infections in vulnerable
older persons: a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial in
long-term care facilities.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
To determine whether cranberry capsules prevent urinary tract infection (UTI) in long-term care facility (LTCF) residents.
DESIGN:
Double-blind randomized placebo-controlled multicenter trial.
SETTING:
Long-term care facilities (LTCFs).
PARTICIPANTS:
LTCF residents (N = 928; 703 women, median age 84).
MEASUREMENTS:
Cranberry
and placebo capsules were taken twice daily for 12 months. Participants
were stratified according to UTI risk (risk factors included long-term
catheterization, diabetes mellitus, ≥ 1 UTI in preceding year). Main
outcomes were incidence of UTI according to a clinical definition and a
strict definition.
RESULTS:
In
participants with high UTI risk at baseline (n = 516), the incidence of
clinically defined UTI was lower with cranberry capsules than with
placebo (62.8 vs 84.8 per 100 person-years at risk, P = .04); the
treatment effect was 0.74 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.57-0.97).
For the strict definition, the treatment effect was 1.02 (95% CI =
0.68-1.55). No difference in UTI incidence between cranberry and placebo
was found in participants with low UTI risk (n = 412).
CONCLUSION:
In
LTCF residents with high UTI risk at baseline, taking cranberry
capsules twice daily reduces the incidence of clinically defined UTI,
although it does not reduce the incidence of strictly defined UTI. No
difference in incidence of UTI was found in residents with low UTI risk.
- PMID:
- 25180378
- [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
- PMCID:
- PMC4233974
Free PMC Article
