Urinary Tract Infection in Children

Abstract

Bacterial infection of the urinary tract in infancy and childhood may be etiologic in the development of chronic pyelonephritis with renal insufficiency. Demonstration of asymptomatic bacteriuria in women who have had urinary tract infection and of unsuspected pyelonephritis in postmortem material has given rise to the speculation that pyelonephritis is a lifelong process. Diagnostic and therapeutic implications are obvious. If bacteria are visualized on smears of centrifuged urine, usually the culture is significantly positive.