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Timely diagnosis crucial to reduce needless testing, hospitalization for infant UTIs

NEW YORK — H. Dele Davies, MD, MHCM, from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, highlights the need for improved strategies for the management and treatment of infant urinary tract infections to reduce antibiotic overuse, unnecessary radiological exams and hospital admission.

“Urinary tract infections account for up to 7% of all febrile illnesses in children, and we have to reconsider how we manage them,” Davies told Infectious Diseases in Children. “First of all, we want to ensure that we are using the right collection method, which would catheterization or suprapubic aspiration. Once we have done that, we want to make the diagnosis using a combination of urinalysis, dipstick, microscopy and culture.”

Davies also recommended that infants be examined following their first febrile UTI with a renal/bladder ultrasound to detect any significant renal abnormalities.

Reference:

Davies, HD. “Urinary Tract Infections Management and Treatment.” Presented at: IDC NY; Nov. 19-20, 2016; New York.

Disclosure: Davies reported no relevant financial disclosures.