Does cranberry have a role in catheter-associated urinary tract infections?

Abstract

Introduction: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CA-UTIs) are a prevalent and costly condition, with very few therapeutic options. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of an oral cranberry supplement on catheter-associated urinary tracts infections over a six-month period. Methods: Subjects with long-term indwelling catheters and recurrent symptomatic CA-UTIs were enrolled to take a once-daily cranberry supplement -an oral cranberry supplement with 36 mg of the active ingredient proanthocyanidin (PACs). Primary outcome was reducing the number of symptomatic CA-UTIs. This was defined by ≥103 (cfu)/mL of ≥1 bacterial species in a single catheter urine specimen and signs and symptoms compatible with CA-UTI. Secondary outcomes included bacterial counts and resistance patterns to antibiotics. Results: 34 patients were enrolled in the trial; 22 patients (mean age 77.22 years, 77.27% were men), completed the study. Cranberry was effective in reducing the number of symptomatic CAUTIs in all patients (n=22). Resistance to antibiotics was reduced by 28%. Furthermore, colony counts were reduced by 58.65%. No subjects had adverse events while taking cranberry. Conclusions: Cranberry reduced the number of symptomatic CA-UTIs, antibiotic resistances, and major causative organisms in this cohort. Larger, placebo-controlled studies are needed to further define the role of cranberry in CA-UTIs.

Antibiofilm properties of triclosan with EDTA or cranberry as Foley Catheter lock solutions

“…The antiadhesion effect of cranberry is attributed to its high molecular mass constituents (Sobota 1984;Ofek et al 1996;Burger et al 2000;Weiss et al 2002). Likewise, many recent clinical studies proved the efficiency of cranberry in prevention of UTIs (Maki et al 2016;Fu et al 2017;Nabavi et al 2017;Thomas et al 2017). This study did not report bactericidal activity towards planktonic ( inflating the balloon, were evaluated.…”

“…Furthermore, the preventive effect of cranberry products against UTI have been evaluated in several patient populations and many of these studies suggest that cranberry may reduce the incidence of bacteriuria and UTI (Vasileiou et al ). Recently, it was demonstrated that daily oral intake of cranberry may be beneficial to reduce the number of symptomatic catheter‐associated UTIs in all patients (Thomas et al ).…”

Bacterial biofilm formation on indwelling urethral catheters

“…Conversely, small scale clinical studies of concentrated proanthocyanins, extracted from cranberry, have indicated daily consumption in capsules could reduce the incidence of symptomatic CAUTI (Thomas et al . ). Although blockage specifically was not examined in this study, and it is not clear if this will also be effective in controlling encrustation.…”