[Clinical study of the effectiveness and tolerance of norfloxacin in the therapy of complicated urinary tract infections and in long-term prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections].

The efficacy and tolerance of norfloxacin in the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections and in low dose long-term prophylaxis over six months for recurrent UTI were investigated in 60 and 27 patients, respectively. In the prophylaxis group, compliance with medication was controlled weekly using Mecur BT. Five to nine days after treatment, the urine was sterile in 50 out of the 60 patients treated (83.3%); relapse occurred in six patients and was associated with development of resistance in two. Four patients suffered re-infection within the study period. Failure of treatment was closely related to persisting complicating factors in the urinary tract. The overall tolerance of norfloxacin was satisfactory. However, there was one severe allergic reaction. During the total 391 weeks of low dose long-term prophylaxis given to 27 patients, only one break-through infection occurred. Yet compliance studies proved that antimicrobial activity was present in the urines of less than 50% of the patients. During prophylaxis, the rate of infection was reduced from three to four to 0.13 to 0.05 infections/patient/year. There was no development of resistance in the isolates from these patients. Only two adverse reactions were observed.