Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections and Heparin (RUTIH Trial)

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are the second most common infection in the body. UTIs account for five percent of all visits to primary care physicians. Many women who have had a UTI will develop recurring urinary tract infections. Recent studies suggest that some women who suffer from recurrent UTIs have urinary tracts that allow bacteria to adhere to it more readily than others. Women who suffered from bladder inflammation and recurrent UTIs were noted to have reduced UTIs and bladder inflammation with heparin bladder instillations. Heparin is a highly-sulfated glycosaminoglycan and stored within the secretory granules of mast cells and released only into the vasculature at sites of tissue injury. It has been proposed that, in addition to anticoagulation, the main purpose of heparin is defense at such sites against invading bacteria and other foreign materials. The central question the research is intended to answer is does Heparin bladder instillations decrease UTI rates in patients.