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. 2023 Sep 1;76(4):290–295. doi: 10.4212/cjhp.3444

TABLE 1.

Characteristics of 188 Children Discharged from an Emergency Department with a Diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infection

Characteristic No. (%) of Patientsa (n = 188)
Sex, female 163 (86.7)

Age
 Median (IQR) 5.0 (1.6–9.4) years
 2 months to 3 years 78 (41.5)
 4–12 years 83 (44.1)
 13–18 years 27 (14.4)

Febrileb 83 (44.1)

Comorbidities/history
 History of UTI 41 (21.8)
 Structural kidney/bladder abnormalitiesc 11 (5.9)
 Immunosuppression 0
 Otherd 14 (7.4)

Antibiotic use within 7 days before the ED visit 9 (4.8)
 Trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole 2
 Trimethoprim 1
 Nitrofurantoin 4
 Cephalexin 1
 Cefixime 1

Urine collection method
 Midstream 126 (67.0)
 In-out catheter 62 (33.0)

Positive urinalysis resulte 183 (97.3)

Positive result on urine culturef 170 (90.4)

CFU = colony-forming unit, ED = emergency department, IQR = interquartile range, UTI = urinary tract infection.

a

Except where indicated otherwise.

b

Defined as temperature ≥ 38.0°C and/or clinician documentation of fever or parent reported fever at home before ED visit.

c

Vesicoureteral reflux, bladder diverticulum, duplex ureter, hydronephrosis, pyeloplasty/stent, neurogenic bladder.

d

Viral meningitis, asthma, herpes simplex virus, COVID-19, epilepsy, meningomyelocele, renal stone, depression, constipation.

e

A urinalysis result was considered positive if at least 1 of the following was true: leukocyte esterase or nitrite was detected, urine white blood cell count was > 5 cells per high-power field, or bacteria was present on microscopy.

f

Positive result on urine culture was defined as ≥ 107 CFU/L for clean-catch midstream urine, ≥ 107 CFU/L for an in–out catheter specimen, and any growth from a suprapubic aspirate specimen.