LOW-DOSE ESTROGEN PROPHYLAXIS FOR RECURRENT URINARY-TRACT INFECTIONS IN ELDERLY WOMEN

Objective To assess the efficacy of oral oestriol in the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections in elderly women. Design Double-bl ind, randomised, parallel group, placebo controlled trial Setting Urog ynaecology Unit at King's College Hospital with some women recruited f rom the geriatric units of St. Pancras Hospital and Dulwich Hospital, London (UK). Participants Seventy-two postmenopausal women older than 60 years of age (mean 73.2 years) suffering from recurrent urinary tra ct infections. Intervention Oral oestriol (3 mg per day) or placebo fo r six months. Main outcome measures Urinary tract infection rates. Res ults The study was difficult to conduct because of its design and the age of the participants. Oral oestriol (3 mg per day) was not shown to be superior to placebo in the prevention of recurrent urinary tract i nfections, but both oestriol and placebo improved urinary symptoms dur ing the trial. Conclusion The power of the study might have been too l ow to detect a significant difference between the groups, or oral oest riol (3 mg per day) may have been either the wrong dose or the wrong r oute of administration for this indication.