American family physician
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American family physician · Apr 2016
ReviewCommon Questions About Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections in Women.
Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in women, including healthy women with normal genitourinary anatomy. Recurrent UTI is typically defined as three or more UTIs within 12 months, or two or more occurrences within six months. The same species that caused previous infections is typically responsible for recurrences. ⋯ Cranberry products may reduce recurrent UTIs in premenopausal women, but are less effective than antibiotic prophylaxis, and data are conflicting. Optimal dosing is unknown. Postmenopausal women with atrophic vaginitis may benefit from topical estrogen therapy.
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Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy. It is the fourth most common cancer in women in the United States after breast, lung, and colorectal cancers. Risk factors are related to excessive unopposed exposure of the endometrium to estrogen, including unopposed estrogen therapy, early menarche, late menopause, tamoxifen therapy, nulliparity, infertility or failure to ovulate, and polycystic ovary syndrome. ⋯ Low- to medium-risk endometrial hyperplasia can be treated with nonsurgical options. Survival is generally defined by the stage of the disease and histology, with most patients at stage I and II having a favorable prognosis. Controlling risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension could play a role in the prevention of endometrial cancer.