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Independent analysis of NHS open data
PharmaInsight

Ciprofloxacin vs Nitrofurantoin

National NHS prescribing compared (Prescription Cost Analysis)
Data updated May 2026

Nitrofurantoin was dispensed 15.5× as often as Ciprofloxacin in May 2026 — 333,741 items versus 21,593 in England.

21,593items

Ciprofloxacin · May 2026

NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis

333,741items

Nitrofurantoin · May 2026

NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis

Figure 1. Ciprofloxacin versus Nitrofurantoin: national items dispensed by month

▬ Ciprofloxacin   ·   ╌ Nitrofurantoin

0 204k 408k Jan 2021 Nov 2021 Sep 2022 Jul 2023 May 2024 Mar 2025 May 2026 Nitrofurantoin 21,593 Jan 2021: 38k Feb 2021: 35k Mar 2021: 38k Apr 2021: 34k May 2021: 33k Jun 2021: 35k Jul 2021: 36k Aug 2021: 36k Sep 2021: 37k Oct 2021: 37k Nov 2021: 38k Dec 2021: 39k Jan 2022: 36k Feb 2022: 33k Mar 2022: 37k Apr 2022: 33k May 2022: 35k Jun 2022: 33k Jul 2022: 33k Aug 2022: 35k Sep 2022: 36k Oct 2022: 37k Nov 2022: 37k Dec 2022: 37k Jan 2023: 38k Feb 2023: 34k Mar 2023: 37k Apr 2023: 32k May 2023: 34k Jun 2023: 33k Jul 2023: 34k Aug 2023: 36k Sep 2023: 34k Oct 2023: 35k Nov 2023: 34k Dec 2023: 33k Jan 2024: 34k Feb 2024: 30k Mar 2024: 29k Apr 2024: 29k May 2024: 27k Jun 2024: 26k Jul 2024: 28k Aug 2024: 27k Sep 2024: 27k Oct 2024: 29k Nov 2024: 27k Dec 2024: 27k Jan 2025: 27k Feb 2025: 24k Mar 2025: 24k Apr 2025: 24k May 2025: 24k Jun 2025: 24k Jul 2025: 25k Aug 2025: 24k Sep 2025: 26k Oct 2025: 26k Nov 2025: 24k Dec 2025: 26k Jan 2026: 24k Feb 2026: 22k Mar 2026: 26k Apr 2026: 23k May 2026: 22k

Source: NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis, to May 2026

Ciprofloxacin versus Nitrofurantoin, May 2026
Measure Ciprofloxacin Nitrofurantoin
Items, May 2026 21,593 333,741
Items, last 12 months 289,962 4,416,505
Net ingredient cost, May 2026 £151,042 £2,268,636

See the full profile for Ciprofloxacin or Nitrofurantoin.