Antimicrobial survey of urinary tract isolates from a pediatric department

The epidemiology of urinary tract colonization/infection in children admitted during 1996 to the Pediatric Department of the University of Verona has been studied; 501/1959 urine cultures were positive (25.57%). 584 microorganisms (64.89% Gram-negative, 24.82% Gram-positive, 10.27% fungi) were isolated. The highest rate of Gram-negative isolation (80.0%) was observed in infants, while the highest rate of Gram-positive isolation (29.6%) was found in newborns admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Escherichia coli was the most frequently isolated microorganism in infants and children, but not in newborns. A 3-fold increase in resistant E. coli strains to cotrimoxazole/sulfamethoxazole and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid was documented during the last 3 years in this pediatric population. Our observations underline the importance of the survey of microbial maps in pediatric departments in order to optimize therapeutic and preventive choices.