designer491 / iStock Proponents of the "shorter is better" philosophy for antibiotic treatment of many common bacterial infections can add another study to their list: In results published this week in JAMA, researchers reported that, in men who had presumed symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTIs) with no fever, 7 days of antibiotics was noninferior to 14 days for resolving symptoms. The findings are from a randomized clinical trial conducted among men at two Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals in Minneapolis and Houston who were treated with ciprofloxacin or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. No significant differences in recurrence of symptoms or adverse events occurred. "The findings support the use of a 7-day course of ciprofloxacin or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole as an alternative to a 14-day course for treatment of afebrile men with UTI," the study authors wrote.