eTable 2. Evidence table for therapeutic trials.

Reference	Trial features	Definitions	Intervention	Control	Endpoints	Undesired events	Dropouts	Comments
Liu 2019 (14)	122 patients (age 18 – 75) 2010 – 2013 follow-up: 6 months trial centers: 3 China	UTI: urine culture with >10⁵5 CFU/ml bacteria + dysuria, urinary frequency, and/or urinary urgency rUTI : ≥=3 episodes of uncomplicated UTI in the past year	Chinese herbal medicine 61 patients 4 weeks Chinese herbal medicine granules (116 g) + antibiotic placebo Chinese herbal medicine : Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge (15 g), Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco (10 g), Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (10 g), Rehmannia glutinosa (Gaertn.) DC. (15 g), Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf (15 g), Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (10 g), Rheum palmatum L. (6 g), Polygonum aviculare L. (10 g), Dianthus superbus L. (10 g), Talcum (15 g). placebo: Identical form & taste b.i.d.	Antibiotics 61 patients 4 weeks antibiotic granules (LVX: 200 mg; AMX: 500 mg) + Chinese herbal medicine placebo LVX : b.i.d. for one week or AMX : t.i.d. for one week AMX and LVX followed by placebo : 3 weeks	Chinese herbal medicine vs. antibiotics symptomatic improvement: • ≥=95% improvement: 31% (19/61) vs. 30% (18/61) • ≥=70% improvement: 48% (29/61) vs. 26% (16/61); p<0.05 • ≥=30% improvement: 18% (11/61) vs. 39% (24/61); p<0.05. •<30% improvement or no response: 3% (2/61) vs. 5% (3/61) treatment efficacy : 90% (55/61) vs. 82% (50/61) rUTI : 13% (8/61) vs. 20% (12/61) rUTI in fully recovered patients : 9% (5/55) vs. 14% (7/50)	no significant side effects in either group (data not shown)	Chinese herbal medicine vs. antibiotics dropouts: •4 weeks: 3% (2/61) vs. 2% (1/61) •6 months: 22% (13/59) vs. 18% (11/60) rUTI analysis: 79% (48/61) vs. 82% (50/61)	supported by the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Joint Innovation Research Project, Traditional Chinese Medicine Dominant Disease Clinical Research Project and Capital Featured Clinical Application and Promotion Project, China no conflicts of interest
Cai 2018 (23)	93 patients (age 22–63) 2017 follow-up: 3 months Single-center country: no information	UTI: no definition rUTI : no definition	Combination preparation 46 patients one week 1 tablet containing 400 mg L-methionine, 100 mg Hibiscus sabdariffa, 100 mg Boswellia serrata b.i.d.	Antibiotics 47 patients short-term antibiotic therapy (according to the EAU guideline)	Combination preparation vs. antibiotics clinical Improvement: •30 days: 96% (44/46) vs. 100% (47/47) •90 days: 96% (44/46) vs. 96% (45/47) quality of life: •baseline: 94.3 vs. 94.5 •30 days: 98.5 vs. 98.7 •90 days: 99.1 vs. 98.1; p<0.003	Combination preparation: no side effects antibiotics : 14.9% (7/47) discontinuation of treatment due to drug side effects	no dropouts	no conflicts of interest

AMX: amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, b.i.d., twice daily; EAU: European Association of Urology, UTI: urinary tract infection, LVX: levofloxacin, rUTI: recurrent urinary tract infectio; t.i.d., three times daily