World Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences

PREVALENCE OF URINARY TRACT INFECTION IN FEBRILE CHILDREN ATTENDING PAEDIATRIC OPD IN GOVERNMENT MEDICAL COLLEGE IN SOUTH INDIA

Dr. P. Satish Chandra and *Dr. Seepana Somasekhara Rao

ABSTRACT

Introduction: A significant portion of our outpatient pediatric practice involves children presenting with fever. Among these cases, urinary tract infections rank as the third most prevalent cause of febrile illness in this age group. However, there is a lack of focus on the detection of urinary tract infections in febrile children. Frequently, antibiotics are administered empirically to these patients without thorough assessment for urinary tract infections. Our study aims to assess the prevalence of urinary tract infections in febrile children aged between 1 month and 5 years. Methods: A prospective study was undertaken in the Department of Pediatrics, King George Hospital (Andhra Medical College) Visakhapatnam. Urine was collected from enrolled febrile patients and sent for routine microscopic examination as well as for culture and sensitivity. Results: The study included 1000 children. Females were 472(47.2%) and males were 528(52.8%). The total prevalence of UTI cases was 4%. The incidence in < 1 year was highest (4.8%), 1-2 years had an incidence of 4.3 %, and 2 to 5 years the incidence was 3.5 %. Apart from fever, the commonest symptoms were dysuria, abdominal pain, vomiting, chills and rigours. Urine culture shows E. coli followed by Klebsiella were found to contribute the maximum number of cases. Conclusions: The possibility of Urinary Tract Infection must be considered in all febrile children and urine culture specimens must be collected as a part of diagnostic evaluation.

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