Some research suggests that cranberry (juice or capsules) may decrease the number of UTIs in those with frequent infections. A Cochrane review concluded that the benefit, if it exists, is small. Long-term tolerance is also an issue with gastrointestinal upset occurring in more than 30%. Cranberry juice is thus not currently recommended for this indication. As of 2015, probiotics require further study to determine if they are beneficial.

The evidence that preventive antibiotics decrease urinary tract infections in children is poor. However recurrent UTIs are a rare cause of further kidney problems if there are no underlying abnormalities of the kidneys, resulting in less than a third of a percent (0.33%) of chronic kidney disease in adults. Whether routine circumcisions prevents UTIs has not been well studied as of 2011.

It usually strikes young adults with tuberculosis in other places of the body as well. It is common in Asia, but less common in sub-Saharan Africa.

Urogenital tuberculosis may cause strictures of the ureter, which, however, may heal when infection is treated.

Treatment of TB uses antibiotics to kill the bacteria. Effective TB treatment is difficult, due to the unusual structure and chemical composition of the mycobacterial cell wall, which hinders the entry of drugs and makes many antibiotics ineffective. The two antibiotics most commonly used are isoniazid and rifampicin, and treatments can be prolonged, taking several months. Latent TB treatment usually employs a single antibiotic, while active TB disease is best treated with combinations of several antibiotics to reduce the risk of the bacteria developing antibiotic resistance. People with latent infections are also treated to prevent them from progressing to active TB disease later in life. Directly observed therapy, i.e., having a health care provider watch the person take their medications, is recommended by the WHO in an effort to reduce the number of people not appropriately taking antibiotics. The evidence to support this practice over people simply taking their medications independently is of poor quality. There is no strong evidence indicating that directly observed therapy improves the number of people who were cured or the number of people who complete their medicine. Moderate quality evidence suggests that there is also no difference if people are observed at home versus at a clinic, or by a family member versus a health care worker. Methods to remind people of the importance of treatment and appointments may result in a small but important improvement.

The BCG vaccine has limitations, and research to develop new TB vaccines is ongoing. A number of potential candidates are currently in phase I and II clinical trials. Two main approaches are being used to attempt to improve the efficacy of available vaccines. One approach involves adding a subunit vaccine to BCG, while the other strategy is attempting to create new and better live vaccines. MVA85A, an example of a subunit vaccine, currently in trials in South Africa, is based on a genetically modified vaccinia virus. Vaccines are hoped to play a significant role in treatment of both latent and active disease.

To encourage further discovery, researchers and policymakers are promoting new economic models of vaccine development, including prizes, tax incentives, and advance market commitments. A number of groups, including the Stop TB Partnership, the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, and the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, are involved with research. Among these, the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation received a gift of more than $280 million (US) from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and license an improved vaccine against tuberculosis for use in high burden countries.

A number of medications are being studied for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, including bedaquiline and delamanid. Bedaquiline received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in late 2012. The safety and effectiveness of these new agents are still uncertain, because they are based on the results of a relatively small studies. However, existing data suggest that patients taking bedaquiline in addition to standard TB therapy are five times more likely to die than those without the new drug, which has resulted in medical journal articles raising health policy questions about why the FDA approved the drug and whether financial ties to the company making bedaquiline influenced physicians' support for its use.

Even when caught early, aggressive treatment is required (Bobba). Antibiotics are proven to cure Emphysematous cystitis over time and reduce the amount of gas inside the bladder wall. Prognosis is poor if antibiotics are not used to treat the patient. Additional treatment consists of urinary drainage and good control of blood glucose. The treatment of underlying comorbid diseases, such as diabetes, is extremely important because they can intensify the infection (Gheonea, Bondari). Hyperbaric oxygen is an effective treatment, and has cured some cases in as little as 48 hours. Although it is unclear as to how gas formation occurs in emphysematous cystitis, it’s dependant on whether or not the patient has contributing diseases (Mccabe). Gas formation in diabetic patients diagnosed with Emphysematous cystitis has been determined to occur due to the production of carbon dioxide as a result of the fermentation of the high concentrations of glucose. Gas formation in nondiabetic patients is most likely due the breaking down of urinary lactulose and tissue proteins. Inflammation caused by infection increases pressure and decreases circulation, which provides the perfect environment for bacteria to produce gas (Sereno).

The standard treatment recommended by the WHO is with isoniazid and rifampicin for six months, as well as ethambutol and pyrazinamide for the first two months. If there is evidence of meningitis, then treatment is extended to twelve months. The U.S. guidelines recommend nine months' treatment. "Common medication side effects a patient may have such as inflammation of the liver if a patient is taking pyrazinamide, rifampin, and isoniazid. A patient may also have drug resistance to medication, relapse, respiratory failure, and adult respiratory distress syndrome."

Diet modification is often recommended as a first-line method of self-treatment for interstitial cystitis, though rigorous controlled studies examining the impact diet has on interstitial cystitis signs and symptoms are currently lacking. Individuals with interstitial cystitis often experience an increase in symptoms when they consume certain foods and beverages. Avoidance of these potential trigger foods and beverages such as caffeine-containing beverages including coffee, tea, and soda, alcoholic beverages, chocolate, citrus fruits, hot peppers, and artificial sweeteners may be helpful in alleviating symptoms. Diet triggers vary between individuals with IC; the best way for a person to discover his or her own triggers is to use an elimination diet. Sensitivity to trigger foods may be reduced if calcium glycerophosphate and/or sodium bicarbonate is consumed. The foundation of therapy is a modification of diet to help patients avoid those foods which can further irritate the damaged bladder wall.

The mechanism by which dietary modification benefits people with IC is unclear. Integration of neural signals from pelvic organs may mediate the effects of diet on symptoms of IC.

If left untreated, miliary tuberculosis is almost always fatal. Although most cases of miliary tuberculosis are treatable, the mortality rate among children with miliary tuberculosis remains 15 to 20% and for adults 25 to 30%. One of the main causes for these high mortality rates includes late detection of disease caused by non-specific symptoms. Non-specific symptoms include: coughing, weight loss, or organ dysfunction. These symptoms may be implicated in numerous disorders, thus delaying diagnosis. Misdiagnosis with tuberculosis meningitis is also a common occurrence when patients are tested for tuberculosis, since the two forms of tuberculosis have high rates of co-occurrence.

Bladder instillation of medication is one of the main forms of treatment of interstitial cystitis, but evidence for its effectiveness is currently limited. Advantages of this treatment approach include direct contact of the medication with the bladder and low systemic side effects due to poor absorption of the medication. Single medications or a mixture of medications are commonly used in bladder instillation preparations. DMSO is the only approved bladder instillation for IC/BPS yet it is much less frequently used in urology clinics.

A 50% solution of DMSO had the potential to create irreversible muscle contraction. However, a lesser solution of 25% was found to be reversible. Long-term use of DMSO is questionable, as its mechanism of action is not fully understood though DMSO is thought to inhibit mast cells and may have anti-inflammatory, muscle-relaxing, and analgesic effects. Other agents used for bladder instillations to treat interstitial cystitis include: heparin, lidocaine, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid, pentosan polysulfate, oxybutynin, and botulinum toxin A. Preliminary evidence suggests these agents are efficacious in reducing symptoms of interstitial cystitis, but further study with larger, randomized, controlled clinical trials is needed.

When HIV-negative children take isoniazid after they have been exposed to tuberculosis, their risk to contract tuberculosis is reduced. A Cochrane review investigated whether giving isoniazid to HIV-positive children can help to prevent this vulnerable group from getting tuberculosis. They included three trials conducted in South Africa and Botswana and found that isoniazid given to all children diagnosed with HIV may reduce the risk of active tuberculosis and death in children who are not on antiretroviral treatment. For children taking antiretroviral medication, no clear benefit was detected.

A study conducted on 452 patients revealed that the genotype responsible for higher IL-10 expression makes HIV infected people more susceptible to tuberculosis infection. Another study on HIV-TB co-infected patients also concluded that higher level of IL-10 and IL-22 makes TB patient more susceptible to Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). It is also seen that HIV co-infection with tuberculosis also reduces concentration of immunopathogenic matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) leading to reduced inflammatory immunopathology.

Unfortunately mesna is ineffective as a treatment once hemorrhagic cystitis has developed. Although rare, once a case of radiation-induced hemorrhagic cystitis is diagnosed there is no empirically-proven treatments to heal this type of condition, which can severely degrade a patient's quality of life and might possibly lead to renal failure with risk of death.

Viral hemorrhagic cystitis in children generally spontaneously resolves within a few days.

The first step in the treatment of HC should be directed toward clot evacuation. Bladder outlet obstruction from clots can lead to urosepsis, bladder rupture, and renal failure. Clot evacuation can be performed by placing a wide-lumen bladder catheter at bedside. The bladder can be irrigated with water or sodium chloride solution. The use of water is preferable because water can help with clot lysis. Care must be taken to not overdistend the bladder and cause a perforation.. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) therapy has been proven to be effective in treating radiation-induced hemorrhagic cystitis.

Risk factors include catheter use and chronic urinary tract infections, being female, diabetes mellitus, neurogenic bladder, and being in an immunocompromised state (Weerakkody). In 50% of cases, patients are elderly and diabetic. Obstruction of the urinary tract as well as urinary stasis, often brought on by paralysis of the urinary tract, are also major risk factors in addition to diabetes (De Baets, Baert). Transplant recipients have also been found to be at risk (Weerakkody). Introduction of infection from external means was discovered in one case study where a male with no history of diabetes or abnormalities to his immune system had recently undergone a transrectal ultrasound needle-guided prostate biopsy contracted a severe case of sepsis, which led to a case of Emphysematous cystitis. The patient went on to develop disseminated intravascular coagulopathy and acute respiratory distress syndrome. After a stay in Intensive Care undergoing broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy, the patient was eventually discharged in stable condition (Hashimoto, Takeshi). Patients diagnosed with Emphysematous Cystitis are also commonly diagnosed with urinary tract infections and sepsis (Mccabe). Cases of Emphysematous Cystitis in a clinical study have shown to progress quickly and are life threatening and sometimes fatal due to inflammation caused by gas forming organisms (Mokabberi).

Medical treatment entails low dose antibiotic prophylaxis until resolution of VUR occurs. Antibiotics are administered nightly at half the normal therapeutic dose. The specific antibiotics used differ with the age of the patient and include:

- Amoxicillin or ampicillin – infants younger than 6 weeks

- Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (co-trimoxazole) – 6 weeks to 2 months

After 2 months the following antibiotics are suitable:

- Nitrofurantoin {5–7 mg/kg/24hrs}

- Nalidixic acid

- Bactrim

- Trimethoprim

- Cephalosporins

Urine cultures are performed 3 monthly to exclude breakthrough infection. Annual radiological investigations are likewise indicated. Good perineal hygiene, and timed and double voiding are also important aspects of medical treatment. Bladder dysfunction is treated with the administration of anticholinergics.

Tuberculoma is commonly treated through the HRZE drug combination (Isoniazid, Rifampin, Pyrazinamide, Ethambutol) followed by maintenance therapy.

It has been estimated that VUR is present in more than 10% of the population. Younger children are more prone to VUR because of the relative shortness of the submucosal ureters. This susceptibility decreases with age as the length of the ureters increases as the children grow. In children under the age of 1 year with a urinary tract infection, 70% will have VUR. This number decreases to 15% by the age of 12. Although VUR is more common in males antenatally, in later life there is a definite female preponderance with 85% of cases being female.

Cystitis is a urinary bladder inflammation that results from any one of a number of distinct syndromes. It is most commonly caused by a bacterial infection in which case it is referred to as a urinary tract infection.

Bladder tamponade is obstruction of the bladder outlet due to heavy blood clot formation within it. It generally requires surgery. Such heavy bleeding is usually due to bladder cancer.

The best way to prevent bladder stones is to drink plenty of liquids. Juices containing citrates are thought to reduce the risk of stone formation. A study published in the "Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology" indicate orange juice is more effective at preventing stone formation than other citrus juices. Men who have difficulty with urination due to prostatic hypertrophy should seek treatment. In those with benign prostatic hyperplasia urinating in a sitting position appears to improve bladder emptying which might decrease bladder stones in this group.

Controlling the spread of tuberculosis infection can prevent tuberculous spondylitis and arthritis. Patients who have a positive PPD test (but not active tuberculosis) may decrease their risk by properly taking medicines to prevent tuberculosis. To effectively treat tuberculosis, it is crucial that patients take their medications exactly as prescribed.

There are several ways that drug resistance to TB, and drug resistance in general, can be prevented:

1. Rapid diagnosis & treatment of TB: One of the greatest risk factors for drug resistant TB is problems in treatment and diagnosis, especially in developing countries. If TB is identified and treated soon, drug resistance can be avoided.

2. Completion of treatment: Previous treatment of TB is an indicator of MDR TB. If the patient does not complete his/her antibiotic treatment, or if the physician does not prescribe the proper antibiotic regimen, resistance can develop. Also, drugs that are of poor quality or less in quantity, especially in developing countries, contribute to MDR TB.

3. Patients with HIV/AIDS should be identified and diagnosed as soon as possible. They lack the immunity to fight the TB infection and are at great risk of developing drug resistance.

4. Identify contacts who could have contracted TB: i.e. family members, people in close contact, etc.

5. Research: Much research and funding is needed in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of TB and MDR TB.

"Opponents of a universal tuberculosis treatment, reasoning from misguided notions of cost-effectiveness, fail to acknowledge that MDRTB is not a disease of poor people in distant places. The disease is infectious and airborne. Treating only one group of patients looks inexpensive in the short run, but will prove disastrous for all in the long run."- Paul Farmer

Increasing fluid intake can facilitate the passage of small bladder stones. However, larger stones may require other methods of treatment. Fragmentation of bladder stones can be achieved by use of a cystoscope which is inserted into the bladder. The urologist visualizes the stone and uses ultrasonic energy or laser lithotripsy to cause fragmentation of the stones into small pieces, which are then flushed out of the bladder. This procedure requires anesthesia and may require admission to a hospital. Complications of this treatment include infection and damage to the bladder. Some stones are too large even for cystoscopic treatment and may require open cystotomy, in which an incision is made in the bladder and the stones are removed manually.

Causes of hemorrhagic cystitis include chemotherapy (e.g. cyclophosphamide, Ifosfamide), radiation, or infection. Ifosfamide is the most common cause of hemorrhagic cystitis. Radiation-induced hemorrhagic cystitis develops in similar or smaller patient numbers when compared to cyclophosphamide-induced cases.

Adenovirus (particularly serotypes 11 and 21 of subgroup B) is the most common cause of acute viral hemorrhagic cystitis in children, though it can result from BK virus as well. A chemical hemorrhagic cystitis can develop when vaginal products are inadvertently placed in the urethra. Gentian violet douching to treat candidiasis has resulted in hemorrhagic cystitis when the drug was misplaced in the urethra, but this hemorrhagic cystitis resolved spontaneously with cessation of treatment. Accidental urethral placement of contraceptive suppositories has also caused hemorrhagic cystitis in several patients. The bladder irritation was thought to be caused by the spermicidal detergent nonoxynol-9. In the acute setting, the bladder can be copiously irrigated with alkalinized normal saline to minimize bladder irritation.

Although hemorrhagic cystitis post-transplantation/bone marrow transplantation is not technically infectious, a short discussion is in order for completeness. Patients undergoing therapy to suppress the immune system are at risk for hemorrhagic cystitis due to either the direct effects of chemotherapy or activation of dormant viruses in the kidney, ureter, or bladder.