Bacteriuria in a pediatric population

A three-month survey was conducted to determine the distribution of organisms associated with urinary tract infection in both a hospitalized and an out-patient pediatric population. Of 2,671 consecutive urine specimens, 1,365 were from hospitalized patients and 1,306 from out-patients. Six hundred twenty-one cultures (23.2%) had 10,000 organisms/ml or greater; this represents 298 or 21.8% of the in-patient cultures and 323 or 24.7% of the out-patient cultures. Forty-seven of the significant growth urines were polymicrobic; 2% of the in-patients' urines showed mixed growth as opposed to 1.5% of the out-patients. E. coli was the most frequently isolated organism. Differences in the distribution of species of organisms are discussed.