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Review
. 2023 Jul 27:13:1148603.
doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1148603. eCollection 2023.

Nitrofurantoin: properties and potential in treatment of urinary tract infection: a narrative review

Marzie Mahdizade Ari  1 , Shirin Dashtbin  1 , Fatemeh Ghasemi  2 , Soheila Shahroodian  1 , Parisa Kiani  3 , Elnaz Bafandeh  4 , Talieh Darbandi  5 , Roya Ghanavati  6 , Atieh Darbandi  1   7
Affiliations
Review

Nitrofurantoin: properties and potential in treatment of urinary tract infection: a narrative review

Marzie Mahdizade Ari et al. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. .

Abstract

Nitrofurantoin (NF), a wide-spectrum antibiotic accessible since 1953, is utilized widely to treat urinary tract infections as it usually stays active against drug-resistant uropathogen. The use of Nitrofurantoin has increased exponentially since new guidelines have repositioned it as first-line therapy for uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection (UTI). To, although fluoroquinolones are usually used to re-evaluate the first- and second-line therapies for treating uncomplicated UTI, their level of utilization is thought to be inappropriately excessive and will eventually have a detrimental impact; thus, we hypothesize that NF might be the best choice for this condition, because of its low frequency of utilization and its high susceptibility in common UTI pathogens. It can be concluded from this review that NF can be considered as the most effective drug in the treatment of acute urinary infection, but due to the long-term side effects of this drug, especially in elderly patients, it is essential to introduce some criteria for prescribing NF in cases of chronic UTI.

Keywords: Nitrofurantoin; drug-resistant uropathogen; fluoroquinolones; side effects; urinary tract infection.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structure of NF (Wijma et al., 2018).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Complicated and uncomplicated UTI prevalence as well as causative pathogens.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Scheme of NF mode of action and ROS generation. p450, cytochrome P450 reductase; NADPH, Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate Hydrogen; SOD, superoxide dismutase; H2O2, hydrogen peroxide.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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