Prevalence of Urinary Tract Infection in Children Admitted to Benghazi Children’s Hospital

Abstract

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are predictable bacterial infections which occur frequently especially during infancy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the etiology and antimicrobial resistance patterns among infants and children who approached our hospital for the treatment of UTIs. In this observational study which was carried out from January 2009 to December 2010.  Two hundred and  six (206) urine samples, which were collected from children admitted to Benghazi Children’s Hospital (Nephrology department) with suspected UTIs, were studied. Demographic characteristics, etiological agents, and antimicrobial resistance were  evaluated. 58 patients (28.2%) had a positive urine culture, and the majority of UTIs were occurring in females. The most common presenting symptoms were fever, dysuria, and abdominal pain. The most common isolated pathogen was Escherichia coli (67.2%), followed by Klebsiella pneumonia (20.7%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa  (3.4%), Proteus mirabilis (3.4%), Klebsiella oxytoca (1.7%), Enterobacter casseliflavus (1.7%) and Enterobacter cloacae (1.7%). In the current study, most of the infected cases were females, and fever was the most common presenting symptom. All isolated bacteria were highly sensitive to Meropenem (98.1%), Imipenem (96.3%), Amikacin (96.2%), Cefoxitin (81.1%), and Ciproflaxacin (80%) , and had a high resistance rate to Ampecillin (89.1%) and Cephalothin (60.4%). This phenomena may be contributed to the frequent useage and miss-use of  antibiotics without  medical prescription.