Incidence and morbidity of urinary tract infection in a prospective cohort of children - Abstract

AIM: Information on the epidemiology of childhood urinary tract infections (UTIs) is scarce and mostly based on retrospective data.

This study investigated incidence rates, morbidity and risk factors for UTIs in a prospective cohort of children.

METHODS: We explored UTIs in a representative cohort of 1049 neonates from birth to 6 years of age, using maternal interviews that were verified by hospital records. The majority (88.2%) completed the first-year, and more than half (56.2%) completed the 6-year follow-up.

RESULTS: By 6 years of age, more than 10% of our sample had been affected by UTIs. The cumulative incidence for the first year of life was 3.77%, without significant differences between genders, and for one to 6 years, it was 6.81% and 5.7 times higher in girls than boys. Clinical information was available for 63 children: 25 were hospitalised, 16 suffered recurrences, 10 received prophylaxis, eight had urinary tract malformations, three required surgery, and two had impaired renal function.

CONCLUSION: UTIs affected approximately 4% and 10% of children by the ages of one and 6 years, respectively, and their incidence was related to gender and age. Morbidity was considerable, recurrences were common, and despite advances in management, long-term consequences may still be encountered.

Written by:
Ladomenou F, Bitsori M, Galanakis E.   Are you the author?
Department of Paediatrics, Heraklion University Hospital, Crete, Greece.

Reference: Acta Paediatr. 2015 Mar 2. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1111/apa.12992


PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25736706

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