Intravesical Antibiotic Administration in the Treatment of Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections: Promising Results From a Case Series

Objective Intravesical antibiotic administration for the treatment of recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) provides targeted therapy that may be a useful alternative to oral antibiotics. The objective of the study was to assess the rate of UTIs before and after intravesical antibiotic instillations in community-dwelling postmenopausal women with recurrent UTIs. Methods Patients with recurrent UTI who underwent antibiotic bladder instillations were included. Instillation was performed in the office by trained nursing staff using either gentamycin or tobramycin. Every instillation was preceded by bladder irrigation with sterile water. Retrospective chart review was performed to compare rates of UTIs for 6 months before and after intervention. Descriptive and nonparametric statistics were used for data analysis. Results Twelve patients were evaluated. The average rate of UTIs decreased from a median of 2.5 to 1.5 infections ( P = 0.025) after intravesical instillations. The number of pathogen types decreased from a median of 2.5 to 1.5 after therapy ( P = 0.025). There was a reduction in bacterial antibiotic resistance after completion of instillations, with an estimated median difference of −5.250 ( P = 0.065). There were no adverse effects reported during instillations. Conclusions Intravesical instillations offer a promising therapy for the treatment of recurrent UTIs in postmenopausal women who failed oral antibiotic therapy. Future prospective studies are needed to further elucidate the clinical utility and long-term benefits of antibiotic instillations.