Optimal Duration of Treatment for Kidney Infection

Excerpt

Prescribing an antimicrobial agent for a patient with a bacterial urinary tract infection is generally straightforward. One of several agents with a wide spectrum of activity against most urinary tract pathogens can be chosen with anticipation of a satisfactory response. Acute symptoms usually resolve within 24 hours, and a urine culture is predictably negative within a few hours after initiation of therapy. The decision as to length of therapy to cure the infection is more controversial. The performance of definitive studies to determine the necessary treatment duration for cure has not been seen to be an important goal for most