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Evidence summaries

Cranberries for Preventing Urinary Tract Infections (Utis)

Cranberry juice appears to decrease the number of symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women with recurrent UTIs compared to placebo. Level of evidence: "B"

The use of cranberry juice is suggested for the prevention of recurrent symptomatic urinary tract infections as the first choice over antibiotic prophylaxis.

The recommendation attaches a relatively high value to avoiding the development of antibiotic resistance in the community.

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 3 included 50 studies with a total of 8 857 participants. Cranberry products were effecting for preventing UTIs which cause symptoms in women with frequent UTIs and in children with UTIs (tableT1). Gastrointestinal side effects did not differ between those taking cranberry products and those receiving placebo or no specific treatment (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.77; 10 studies, n=2166; I² = 0%; moderate certainty evidence).

Any cranberry product versus placebo or control for preventing urinary tract infection

Outcome: Symptomatic culture-verified UTIRelative effect (95% CI)Risk with placebo/controlRisk with intervention - any cranberry productNo. of participants(RCTs) Certainty of the evidence
Women with recurrent UTIRR 0.74(0.55 to 0.99)243 per 1000180 per 1000(134 to 241)1555 (8) Moderate
Elderly men and women in institutionsRR 0.93(0.67 to 1.30)113 per 1000105 per 1000(76 to 147)1489 (3) Moderate
ChildrenRR 0.53(0.36 to 0.78)289 per 1,000153 per 1,000(104 to 225)428 (4) Moderate

Comment: The certainty of the evidence is downgraded by increased heterogeneity.

    References

    • Williams G, Stothart CI, Hahn D, et al. Cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2023;11(11):CD001321 [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords