Review of clinical guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of urinary tract infection in children

Abstract

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common bacterial diseases in childhood. The difficulty of diagnosis and timely administration of adequate therapy is associated with differences in the clinical course of the disease in different age groups, localization of the infectious process (upper and lower urinary tract), methods of urine collection and interpretation of the obtained results. The possibility and amount of instrumental diagnostics also varies depending on the region and the specifics of the organization of the healthcare system. The problem of increasing resistance of microorganisms is aggravated by the often-excessive prescription of antimicrobial chemotherapy drugs, which leads to a narrowing of the range of available drugs and the possibility of their use in appropriate age groups. All of the above explains the lack of uniform approaches and the existence of many international and local clinical recommendations on the problem of UTI. This review highlights the features of urine collection in non- and toilet-trained children and also discusses the assumptions and limitations of using screening methods for urinalysis. Indications for urine culture and differences in the interpretation of results depending on the method of obtaining a urine sample are presented, as well as data on modern instrumental diagnostic methods and strategies for their use in practice. A comparative description of current international clinical recommendations for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of UTIs in children is provided.