Prevalence of Urinary Tract Infection in Infants with Unexplained Acute Fever: A cross sectional study

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common bacterial infections in infancy, with a high risk of recurrence, and maybe an indicator of underlying urinary tract abnormality. It is often misdiagnosed due to irregular and unrelated symptomatology in the absence of directed screening. Knowledge of baseline risk of urinary tract infection can help clinicians make informed diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to know the prevalence of UTI in infants with unexplained acute fever and to know other features of UTI besides fever. Methods: This was an observational, descriptive, cross sectional study. The study was conducted in private tertiary care hospital in Kolkata involving 110 infants attending the out-patient department of Paediatrics, KPC Medical College and Hospital from January 2020, to June 2020. Urine specimens were collected using midstream clean-catch urine (CCU) method and tested by urinalysis and culture. Template was generated in MS excel sheet and analysis was done on SPSS software. Results: Urine sample was successfully obtained from 110 infants, of which 66 (60%) were males, 44 (40%) were females. UTI was maximum present in age group 61-365 days (12.73%). In gender maximum UTI was present in males (11.82%). Majority of cases present with the temperature 38.30C to 38.90C (37.27%). Fever (100%) and Failure to thrive (70.91%) were the commonest presentation of cases selected for the study. Gastroenteritis was the most common illness observed in 33 (30%) infants. Conclusions: Prevalence rates of UTI varied by age, gender, race, and circumcision status. Prevalence estimates can help clinicians make informed decisions regarding diagnostic testing in children presenting with signs and symptoms of urinary tract infection