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Am J Perinatol 2024; 41(S 01): e775-e779
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1757454
Original Article

Urinary Tract Infections in Low Birth Weight Neonates

Shruthi Janardhan
1   Department of Pediatrics, Staten Island University Hospital, Northwell Health, Staten Island, New York
,
Sharon Kim
2   Department of Pain and Palliative Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
,
Blerim Cukovic
1   Department of Pediatrics, Staten Island University Hospital, Northwell Health, Staten Island, New York
,
Seleshi Demissie
3   Biosttistics Unit, Feinstein Institute of Research, Northwell Health, Manhasset, New York
,
Philip Roth
1   Department of Pediatrics, Staten Island University Hospital, Northwell Health, Staten Island, New York
4   Department of Pediatrics, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell, Hempstead, New York
,
Jonathan Blau
1   Department of Pediatrics, Staten Island University Hospital, Northwell Health, Staten Island, New York
4   Department of Pediatrics, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell, Hempstead, New York
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Abstract

Objective Our objective was to evaluate the incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in low birth weight (LBW) neonates and to evaluate the compliance of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) providers in performing urine cultures as a part of late-onset sepsis (LOS) evaluations following an educational intervention.

Study Design A retrospective chart review for all LBW infants undergoing LOS evaluations was performed. An educational intervention was conducted to encourage NICU providers to perform urine cultures in LOS evaluations. Prospective chart reviews were conducted following the intervention to assess compliance with the urine culture directive and the incidence of UTIs before and after the intervention.

Results Rate of UTIs among LBW neonates was 1.3% for the entire study period and typical uropathogens were the cause. UTIs were found concurrently with bacteremia in only 33.3% of cases and showed a predilection for male infants when analyzing based on the number of infections. Urine cultures were performed in 20% of LOS evaluations prior to our educational intervention and increased to 57% (p < 0.0001) postintervention.

Conclusion An educational intervention is effective at increasing the rate of obtaining urine cultures with LOS evaluations. Performing these cultures reveals that UTIs in LBW neonates are common without bacteremia and can be missed if they are omitted from LOS evaluations.

Key Points

  • UTIs occur often in preterm infants, especially boys.

  • Education increases the performance of urine cultures.

  • UTIs in preterm infants occur often without bacteremia.

Keywords

UTI - NICU - prematurity - urine culture - late-onset sepsis


Publication History

Received: 12 July 2022

Accepted: 17 August 2022

Article published online:
29 December 2022

© 2022. Thieme. All rights reserved.

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