Urinary tract infections in preschool children.
AIM To determine the prevalence and etiological agents of significant bakteriuria in children younger than six, as well as the incidence of anatomical abnormalities of the urinary system in children with established significant bakteriuria. METHODS Data were collected from hospital records of children treated at the Department for Preschool and School Health Care, the Primary Health Care Center Zenica and from discharge letters for children hospitalized at the Department of Pediatrics, Cantonal Hospital Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period 2007-2009. RESULTS A total of 5379 children were included in the study. Significant bacteriuria was present in 352 (6.5%) children, among those 114 (32.4%) were boys and 238(67.6%) girls. Recidivism of significant bakteriuria was found in 92 children (26.1%), and abnormal ultrasound findings in 58 (16.4%) children. The most common isolated pathogens were E. coli, in 170 (48.3%), K. pneumoniae, in 61 (17.3%), P. mirabilis in 53 (15%), and P. vulgaris, in 12 (34.1%) cases. CONCLUSION As UTIs in children are often symptomless and unrecognizable, and an untreated UTI can lead to subsequent impairment of renal function, it is very important to detect bakteriuria in children.