Q: I have been diagnosed with kidney infection and I was prescribed Tequin 400 mg (Gatifloxacin) once a day for 7 days. After taking 3 doses, I stopped taking as it was causing me nausea and I was prescribed Cotrimoxazole (Bactrim) DS twice a day by my doctor. I want to know which medicine is best prescribed for kidney infection, and in case Tequin is the best prescribed medicine should I continue taking that medicine only, although I missed one dose of Tequin and in place of that I took two doses of Bactrim. Can I now go back to my tequin dose? And what are the tests required further to check whether my kidney is not damaged and the infection is cured?

A:If you had a kidney infection, you were prescribed the correct antibiotic therapy. Unfortunately, you had an adverse effect to Gatifloxacin. However, in most cases Bactrim is a good choice to treat kidney infection as well. Since you did not tell the infecting organism, it is difficult to comment on the best therapy. It is advisable that you finish your antibiotic course (which in most cases is maximum of 2 weeks) and then your urine culture be repeated to confirm the eradication of infection. In addition, unless you are a female, your physician must determine the reason of your infection so it can be prevented in future. Some of the common causes include stone disease, diabetes, prostate infection, etc.