Treatment with methenamine hippurate in the patient with a catheter.

Methenamine hippurate, 1 g twice daily, was given for four months to twenty-two elderly female subjects with an indwelling catheter. The incidence of catheter blockage was significantly reduced when compared with the control period of similar duration, although bacteriuria persisted throughout treatment. The incidence of symptomatic urinary tract infection also decreased during treatment with methenamine hippurate.