Cranberry Supplementation Does Not Reduce Urinary Tract Infections in Patients With Indwelling Catheters After Pelvic...

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common after pelvic reconstructive surgery, likely due to high rates of urinary retention. We sought to determine if prescription of cranberry capsules reduced UTIs in postoperative patients requiring catheter use.

This was an institutional review board-approved retrospective cohort study. Two 6-month periods were compared: April to September 2015, before cranberry capsules were incorporated, and April to September 2016, after cranberry capsules were implemented. Our study population included patients discharged with a catheter after pelvic reconstructive surgery. All charts were reviewed for demographics, perioperative data, and urine cultures up to 6 weeks postoperatively. A UTI was defined as treatment with antibiotics or positive cultures. Statistical analysis was performed; logistic regression evaluated for relationships between UTI and other factors. Our a priori sample size calculation determined 88 subjects per group would be necessary.

Over the 2 periods, 167 patients met inclusion criteria: 71 before and 96 after cranberry implementation. The 2 cohorts were similar in all data. Regarding incidence of UTI, rates were overall high and not significantly different between groups (76% before cranberry vs 69% with cranberry; P = 0.299). The median duration of catheter use was 8 days in both cohorts. The UTI was most likely to occur in the second week after surgery. Logistic regression revealed no associations between age, surgery type, duration of catheter use, and UTI.

In this retrospective study, prescription of cranberry capsules did not significantly reduce UTI rates among patients with urinary catheters after pelvic reconstructive surgery.