Patient Information

  • The ALTAR trial is about finding out whether taking a non-antibiotic drug known as Methenamine Hippurate or Hiprex® twice a day is as good at preventing repeated urinary infections in women as taking a once daily dose of antibiotic (antibiotic prophylaxis).

     

  • Participants are invited to take part if they have had repeated urinary infections that the participant and their doctor agree require treatment.

     

  • When doctors don’t know which way of treating patients is best we compare different treatments directly by putting patients into groups and giving each group one of the different treatments. One group will be given a once daily antibiotic for a year (prophylaxis), whilst the other group will take Methenamine hippurate twice daily (Morning and Evening) for a year.

 

  • The duration of the study is twelve months of treatment and for six months after treatment is finished.  Participants will be asked to keep a simple diary of any symptoms of urinary infection and also complete a short health questionnaire every 3 months and at any time you have symptoms of a urinary infection.  Once treatment is finished after 12 months and again after 15 and 18 months participants will be required to fill out a questionnaire about how satisfied they are with the treatment they received.  Additional monitoring will be carried out for a further 6 months after treatment is finished to see which treatment is best at preventing the infections from coming back.

     

     

  • We also intend to collect some samples during the study, consisting of:

    • 7 urine samples – one at the start of the study and one each time participants attend for a follow-up visit (every 3 months).

    • 7 blood samples - one before treatment begins and then after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of treatment. There will also be a requirement for 2 additional blood samples in the 6 months after treatment is finished, one at 15 months and one at 18 months after randomisation.

    • 4 optional rectal or perianal swabs – one at the start of the study and one at the 6, 12 and 18 month visits.