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Published on: December 4, 2020
Urinary tract infection in children: recurrent infections
1Durham, UK.
Insights
Prophylactic antibiotics may help prevent recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children. This systematic review evaluated the effectiveness and safety of antibiotic prophylaxis for pediatric UTIs.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nephrology
- Infectious Diseases
- Evidence-Based Medicine
Background:
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs) affect up to 11% of girls and 7% of boys by age 16.
- Recurrent UTIs are common in children.
- Vesicoureteric reflux (VUR) is found in 40% of children with a first UTI and is a risk factor for renal scarring.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the effects of prophylactic antibiotics in preventing recurrent urinary tract infections in children.
- To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of antibiotic prophylaxis for pediatric UTIs.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of medical literature.
- Searched databases including Medline, Embase, and The Cochrane Library up to December 2013.
- GRADE evaluation of evidence quality for interventions.
Main Results:
- Three studies met the inclusion criteria for the review.
- The review focused on the effectiveness and safety of prophylactic antibiotics.
Conclusions:
- Prophylactic antibiotics are an intervention for preventing recurrent UTIs in children.
- Further evaluation of effectiveness and safety is presented in this systematic review.
Introduction:
Up to 11% of girls and 7% of boys will have had a urinary tract infection (UTI) by the age of 16 years, and recurrence of infection is common. Vesicoureteric reflux (VUR) is identified in up to 40% of children being investigated for a first UTI, and is a risk factor for, but weak predictor of, renal parenchymal defects.
Methods And Outcomes:
We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of prophylactic antibiotics to prevent recurrent urinary tract infection in children? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to December 2013 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review).
Results:
We found three studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.
Conclusions:
In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following intervention: prophylactic antibiotics.
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