Chinese herbal medicine for treating recurrent urinary tract infections in women

Flower A, Wang LQ, Lewith G, Liu JP, Li Q. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2015 June 4

Objective

This review assessed the benefits and harms of CHM for the treatment of recurrent UTIs in adult women, both as a stand‐alone therapy and in conjunction with other pharmaceutical interventions.

Conclusions

Evidence from seven small studies suggested that CHM as an independent intervention or in conjunction with antibiotics may be beneficial for treating recurrent UTIs during the acute phase of infection and may reduce the recurrent UTI incidence for at least six months post‐treatment. CHM treatments specifically formulated for recurrent UTI may be more effective than herbal treatments designed to treat acute UTI. However, the small number and poor quality of the included studies meant that it was not possible to formulate robust conclusions on the use of CHM for recurrent UTI in women either alone or as an adjunct to antibiotics.

Critical Appraisal

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Insights

Chinese herbal medicine may provide an effective treatment during the acute phase of UTI and when given prophylactically to prevent recurrence in the six months following treatment.

We found limited evidence from seven RCTs about the possible role of Chinese herbal medicine as a treatment for recurrent UTI, either as the sole intervention or as an adjunct to antibiotic treatment for post‐menopausal women. CHM may provide an effective treatment during the acute phase of UTI and when given prophylactically to prevent recurrence in the six months following treatment. However, the small number and poor quality of the included studies meant that it was not possible to formulate robust conclusions on the use of CHM for recurrent UTI in women, when administered alone or as an adjunct to antibiotics.