RT Journal
A1 Faasse M
T1 Lactobacilli vs antibiotics to prevent recurrent urinary tract infections: An inconclusive, not inferior, outcome
JF Archives of Internal Medicine
JO Archives of Internal Medicine
YR 2012
FD November 26
VO 172
IS 21
SP 1690
OP 1694
DO 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.4427
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2012.4427
AB 
The timely report on preventive treatments for recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), Beerepoot et al1(p711) concluded that oral lactobacilli, when compared with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, “did not meet the noninferiority criteria.”1(p711) Although this phraseology is technically correct, its meaning is somewhat opaque, and others have misunderstood the study to demonstrate that lactobacilli “were inferior to”2 or “not as effective as”3 antibiotic prophylaxis. Greater clarity may have been achieved by following the example of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Group and declaring the data “inconclusive,” since the 95% confidence interval for between-treatment difference in number of symptomatic UTIs overlapped the noninferiority margin.4