Towards evidence based emergency medicine: best BETs from the Manchester Royal Infirmary. BET 3: Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to provide symptomatic relief in uncomplicated urinary tract infection.

A short-cut review was carried out to establish whether the addition of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) to antibiotics is of benefit to patients with uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTI). A total of 80 papers was found using the reported search, of which four represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. The clinical bottom line is that the level of evidence is limited and that there is no clear indication of benefit in this group of patients.