Treatment of Urinary Tract Infection
1. How to treat your child with Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)?
Board spectrum antibiotic should be started as soon as the culture sample of urine (and / or blood) had been obtained. The drug regime (antibiotic choice, duration and dosing) would be tailored to each child.
Usually, in very young children, he/ she will need to be hospitalized for intravenous antibiotics therapy and close monitoring.
Sometimes, further tests (such as DMSA, ultrasound, MCUG) may be required when the doctor suspect the child may have underlying kidney or bladder abnormalities predisposing to recurrent UTIs.
2. Why we must treat UTI in children?
UTI can sometimes lead to long term and serious problems such as renal scarring, hypertension, end stage renal dysfunction and growth retardation.
Such risk is related to the severity of the UTI, the number of UTI attacks and the underlying anatomical abnormality of the kidney and urinary system.
3. What are the goals of treating UTI?
- To eliminate the infection and prevention of urosepsis which causing significant morbidity and mortality
- To relief of acute symptoms (e.g. fever, dysuria, frequency)
- To prevention of recurrence of UTI and long-term problems