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Neonatal Urinary Tract Infection

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Kidney and Urinary Tract Diseases in the Newborn

Abstract

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common bacterial illnesses in febrile infants younger than 60 days of age. It usually involves the upper urinary tract (pyelonephritis) and delay in therapy can lead to permanent renal damage. During early infancy, UTI is more common in boys, and uncircumcised males have the highest rates of UTI. The male-to-female ratio starts reversing by 4–6 months of age, and by 1 year of age, UTI is three times more common in girls than in boys. In febrile young infants, the diagnosis of UTI is made during sepsis evaluation as there are no specific symptoms or signs of UTI at this age. All febrile newborns <29 days of age and ill appearing 29–60 days old, undergoing sepsis evaluation (that must include urinalysis and culture), are hospitalized and treated with intravenous antibiotics until completion of sepsis work-up. Those with uncomplicated UTI are treated for 10–14 days and part of therapy can be completed with oral antibiotics as outpatient.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Nephrology, The Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Medicine, 2401 Gillham Road, Kansas City, MO, 64108, USA

    Vimal Chadha MD & Uri S. Alon MD

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  1. Vimal Chadha MD
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  2. Uri S. Alon MD
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Correspondence to Vimal Chadha MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pediatric Nephrology, Hypertension and Renal Transplantation, Kentucky Children’s Hospital, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

    Aftab S. Chishti

  2. Urogenital Center, Division of Pediatric Urology, Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Shumyle Alam

  3. Division of Pediatrics, University of Kentucky Children's Hospital, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

    Stefan G. Kiessling

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Chadha, V., Alon, U.S. (2014). Neonatal Urinary Tract Infection. In: Chishti, A., Alam, S., Kiessling, S. (eds) Kidney and Urinary Tract Diseases in the Newborn. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39988-6_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39988-6_9

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