Cranberry juice is often given to elderly persons in nursing homes to prevent urinary tract infections; still there is little evidence to support its use. Basic hygiene routines are important for preventing urinary tract infections. The aim of this study was to investigate whether cranberry juice and staff education in hygiene care can prevent symptomatic urinary tract infections among elderly persons living in nursing homes. A quasi-experimental study with three intervention groups and one control group was conducted involving 257 elderly women and men. A total of 48 symptomatic urinary tract infections were documented over the six months of the study: 21 (43.7%) in the cranberry group, 11 (22.9%) in the control group, 9 (18.7%) in the cranberry/hygiene care group and 7 (14.5%) in the hygiene care group. These between-group differences were not statistic significant. Hence, our study showed no preventive effect from cranberry juice, alone or in combination with staff education in hygiene care, on the incidence of symptomatic urinary tract infections. However, more and better research with larger randomised trials or cranberry capsules is needed to study its potential use to prevent urinary tract infections in elderly persons.
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