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Background

Neuropathic or neurogenic bladder describes a process of dysfunctional voiding as the result of injury in the brain, spinal cord or nerves innervating the bladder. People with neuropathic bladder, such as from spinal cord injury (SCI), are at significant risk of morbidity from urinary tract infections (UTI). Effective methods to prevent UTI in people with SCI have been sought for many years. Probiotics (micro‐organisms that exert beneficial health effects in the host) have been recommended for bacterial interference of the urological tract to reduce colonisation by uropathogen and to manage the dual problems of infection and antibiotic resistance.

Objectives

This review looked at the benefits and harms of probiotics in preventing symptomatic UTI in people with neuropathic bladder compared with placebo, no therapy, or non‐antibiotic prophylaxis (cranberry juice, methenamine hippurate, topical oestrogen).