What antibiotics are used to treat UTI?

A UTI (urinary tract infection) is usually caused by an infection in the bladder (cystitis), the kidneys (pyelonephritis), or the urethra (urethritis).

The most common drugs used to treat an uncomplicated UTI include:

• trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra, others),
• nitrofurantoin (Macrodantin, Macrobid), and
• fosfomycin (Monurol).

Although fluoroquinolones like ciprofloxacin (Cipro) or levofloxacin (Levaquin) have been commonly used to treat UTIs in the past, recommendations now state this class should be reserved for more serious infections when possible.

Your doctor may choose among these different antibiotics, or others, based on your individual patient characteristics or local resistance patterns seen in your community.