The purpose of this paper was to compare the efficacy of a single dose of 3 g of fosfomycin to that of a 7-day regimen of amoxicillin-clavulanate in the treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria during pregnancy. A randomised, prospective, interventional, analytical, longitudinal study was undertaken, in which the efficacy of two antibiotic regimens (one short and the other long) in the treatment of pregnant women with asymptomatic bacteriuria is compared. One hundred and nine patients were randomly assigned to two groups: 56 were treated with amoxicillin-clavulanate and 53 with fosfomycin. The two groups were similar in terms of co-morbidity, treatments received during pregnancy, obstetric, gynaecological and surgical history and laboratory data. The efficacy of the two regimens was similar and the eradication rate was over 80% in both groups (P = 0.720) (relative risk [RR] 1.195, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.451-3.165). The number of reinfections was greater in the amoxicillin-clavulanate group (P = 0.045). The secondary effects were lower in the fosfomycin group (P = 0.008). There were no significant differences in the number of persistences (P = 0.39), development of symptomatic urinary infections (P = 0.319) or recurrences (P = 0.96). Treatment with a single dose of fosfomycin is as effective as the standard course of treatment with amoxicillin-clavulanate and may be preferable due to its simpler administration and the smaller number of reinfections.

In order to compare the incidence of symptomatic urinary tract infection (UTI) in diabetic patients with and without asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB), and to identify other risk factors for these infections, 289 females and 168 males were studied over a 12-month period. Symptomatic UTI occurred in 69.2% of patients with ASB (67.6% female and 76.5% male) versus 9.8% without ASB (14.9% female and 2.6% male). ASB and urinary incontinence were associated with symptomatic UTI in both women and men. Other risk factors included previous antimicrobial treatment and macrovascular complications in women and obesity and prostatic syndrome in men. The presence of ASB was found to be the major risk factor for developing symptomatic urinary tract infection. Further prospective randomized clinical trials of diabetic patients with risk factors for UTI who are receiving or not receiving treatment may be considered.

The absence of the Framingham clinical criteria rules out the diagnosis of heart failure, particularly in the case of systolic heart failure. However, the presence of these criteria do not necessarily confirm the diagnosis, which may be based in echocardiography.

An elevated nocturnal HR, > or = 65 bpm, obtained with ABPM registry, is associated with the presence of TOD in hypertensive patients. ABPM is a powerful tool for hypertensive patients not only to monitor BP control but also to obtain information on HR which may provide additional information about current and future cardiovascular risk.