Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Hygiene logoLink to The Journal of Hygiene
. 1976 Dec;77(3):291–298. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400055637

Urinary infection in children in general practice: a laboratory view.

R M Maskell, L J Pead
PMCID: PMC2129810  PMID: 1069809

Abstract

Children with urinary infection present at first to their general practitioners; paediatricians to whom they may be referred must assess the validity of the bacteriological diagnosis made at that time. With this in mind an analysis has been made of the laboratory findings in 2204 mid-stream urine specimens from 1586 children between the ages of two and 12 years examined at the request of their general practitioners during the course of one year. The contamination rate was shown to be low; 8% of the specimens from boys and 19% of those from girls showed definite infection, and the ratio of infections in boys to girls was 1:4. There was a considerable difference in the infecting organisms in the sexes. Analysis of the reasons for sending the specimens revealed that a high percentage of children who complained of urinary symptoms did not have infection. Of the children complaining of enuresis only there was a significantly greater incidence of infection in girls than in boys. In the absence of any large studies of urinary infection in domiciliary practice, data from a laboratory which serves many practitioners can contribute to knowledge of the disease.

Full text

PDF
291

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Asscher A. W., McLachlan M. S., Jones R. V., Meller S., Sussman M., Harrison S., Johnston H. H., Sleight G., Fletcher E. W. Screening for asymptomatic urinary-tract infection in schoolgirls. A two-centre feasibility study. Lancet. 1973 Jul 7;2(7819):1–4. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(73)91943-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BAIRD-PARKER A. C. A classification of micrococci and staphylococci based on physiological and biochemical tests. J Gen Microbiol. 1963 Mar;30:409–427. doi: 10.1099/00221287-30-3-409. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bergström T. Sex differences in childhood urinary tract infection. Arch Dis Child. 1972 Apr;47(252):227–232. doi: 10.1136/adc.47.252.227. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. GALLAGHER D. J., MONTGOMERIE J. Z., NORTH J. D. ACUTE INFECTIONS OF THE URINARY TRACT AND THE URETHRAL SYNDROME IN GENERAL PRACTICE. Br Med J. 1965 Mar 6;1(5435):622–626. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5435.622. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. MOND N. C., PERCIVAL A., WILLIAMS J. D., BRUMFITT W. PRESENTATION, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT OF URINARY-TRACT INFECTIONS IN GENERAL PRACTICE. Lancet. 1965 Mar 6;1(7384):514–516. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(65)92020-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Mabeck C. E. Significance of coagulase-negative staphylococcal bacteriuria. Lancet. 1969 Nov 29;2(7631):1150–1152. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(69)92481-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Mackey J. P., Sandys G. H. Laboratory diagnosis of infections of the urinary tract in general practice by means of a dip-inoculum transport medium. Br Med J. 1965 Nov 27;2(5473):1286–1288. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5473.1286. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Mann P. G. Proteus urinary infections in childhood. J Clin Pathol. 1972 Jun;25(6):551–551. doi: 10.1136/jcp.25.6.551-a. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Maskell R. Importance of coagulase-negative staphylococci as pathogens in the urinary tract. Lancet. 1974 Jun 8;1(7867):1155–1158. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(74)90634-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Maskell R., Pead L., Hallett R. J. Urinary pathogens in the male. Br J Urol. 1975 Dec;47(6):691–694. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-410x.1975.tb04041.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Meers P. D. The bacteriological examination of urine: a computer-aided study. J Hyg (Lond) 1974 Apr;72(2):229–244. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400023433. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Sellin M., Cooke D. I., Gillespie W. A., Sylvester D. G., Anderson J. D. Micrococcal urinary-tract infections in young women. Lancet. 1975 Sep 27;2(7935):570–572. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(75)90166-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Steensberg J., Bartels E. D., Bay-Nielsen H., Fanoe E., Hede T. Epidemiology of urinary tract diseases in general practice. Br Med J. 1969 Nov 15;4(5680):390–394. doi: 10.1136/bmj.4.5680.390. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Hygiene are provided here courtesy of Cambridge University Press

RESOURCES