Antibiotic susceptibility and imaging findings of the causative microorganisms responsible for acute urinary tract infection in children: a five-year single center study

PURPOSE We studied the differences in the antibiotic susceptibilities of the microorganisms that causeing urinary tract infections (UTI) in children to obtain useful information on appropriate drug selection for childhood UTI. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed the antibiotic susceptibilities of 429 microorganisms isolated from 900 patients diagnosed with UTI in the Department of Pediatrics, Chungbuk National University Hospital, from 2003 to 2008. RESULTS The most common causative microorganisms for UTI were Escherichia coli (81.4%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (8.4%), Enterobacter spp. (1.7%), and Proteus spp. (0.4%). E. coli showed relatively high susceptibility as compared to imipenem (100%), amikacin (97.7%), aztreonam (97.9%), cefepime (97.7%), and ceftriaxone (97.1%), while it showed relatively low susceptibility to gentamicin (GM) (79.0%), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) (68.7%), ampicillin/sulbactam (33.0%), and ampicillin (AMP) (28.6%). There were no significant differences in the image findings for causative microorganisms. CONCLUSION Gram-negative organisms showed high susceptibility to amikacin and third-generation cephalosporins, and low susceptibility to AMP, GM, and TMP/SMX. Therefore, the use of AMP or TMP/SMX as the first choice in empirical and prophylactic treatment of childhood UTI in Korea should be reconsidered and investigated further.