What to do about recurrent urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections are among the most common bacterial infections. A significant proportion of urinary tract infections recur, which leads to impairments in patients' physical intimacy, social contacts and ability to work. The standardised ACSS questionnaire can provide help in establishing a diagnosis and assessing the course of the disease. In addition to general education and counselling on risk factors for urinary tract infections, non-antibiotic treatment options are particularly important for reducing recurrence. This aims to prevent the development of resistance to antibiotics and their undesirable side-effects. Non-antibiotic strategies most notably include personal counselling with communication of behavioural recommendations, immunoprophylaxis, phytotherapeutics and local oestrogen substitution. However, in cases of high patient suffering, antibiotic prophylaxis should also be considered after due deliberation. In summary, individual counselling should take place and treatment should be given in a multimodal therapeutic approach.