Urinary Tract Infection Treatment
A 21-year-old woman comes to the clinic with uncomplicated UTI. Symptoms began three days ago. Choose a medication to treat her UTI. I CHOSE Nitrofurantoin as the first line therapy.
o Would you prescribe any medications at this point? Why or why not? If so, what? I will prescribe Nitrofurantoin.
o What would be the choice for second-line therapy?
o What are the parameters for monitoring success of the therapy?
o Discuss specific patient education based on the prescribed therapy.
o List one or two adverse reactions for the selected agent that would cause you to change therapy.
o What would be the choice for second-line therapy?
o What lifestyle changes would you recommend for this patient, in addition to medication?
o Describe one or two drug–drug or drug–food interactions for the selected agent.
Urinary Tract Infection Treatment
Student’s Name
Institution
Urinary Tract Infection Treatment
Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) affect the urinary systems. They are some of the most common bacterial infections and are more common among women than men. Treating UTIs is increasingly becoming a challenge because of antibiotic resistance (Bader et al., 2019). This paper examines treatment for uncomplicated UTI in a 21-year-old woman.
I would prescribe nitrofurantoin as the first-line therapy. Nitrofurantoin, taken for five days, has been recommended as an effective antibiotic for treating uncomplicated UTI among young, non-pregnant, otherwise healthy women (Bader et al., 2019). Bader et al. (2019) add that nitrofurantoin is a safe therapy with limited gastrointestinal side effects. In addition, the resistance to this drug is relatively low and stabilizes with time.
For the second-line therapy, I would prescribe fluoroquinolones, such as ciprofloxacin. According to Bader et al. (2019), fluoroquinolones can be effectively used to treat UTIs if the patient is allergic to nitrofurantoin and other first-line therapies or has become resistant to the drugs. In addition, fluoroquinolones are highly effective in treating UTIs, and the only reason they are not used as first-line therapy is their relatively high gastrointestinal side effects (Markowitz et al., 2018).
To monitor the success of the therapy, I would examine the patient’s symptoms. According to Beahm et al. (2017), within two to three days after the drugs have been administered, there should be an improvement in the patient’s symptoms. If the symptoms do not change, urine culture results should be checked to ensure that the therapy has targeted the pathogen causing the infection.
Specific patient education would be provided to ensure the patient adheres to the prescribed medicine. I would educate the patient on the importance of taking the therapy and completing the dosage even when symptoms go away, and the patient feels like they have recovered. I would inform them what to do if they miss a dosage to ensure the effectiveness of the antibiotic. I would also educate the patient about the potential side effects.
Although nitrofurantoin is a safe therapy, there are potential adverse effects, some of which ...