Late onset jaundice and urinary tract infection in neonates.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence and the associated parameters of urinary tract infection (UTI) in infants with late onset jaundice. METHODS This prospective analytic study was conducted among 400 cases, selected by simple sampling from neonates with late onset jaundice admitted in two referral hospitals of Isfahan during a 9-month period. The information including the age, sex and feeding type, as well as the results of physical examination, treatment, radiology studies, etc were recorded. The etiology of jaundice was assessed by laboratory tests. Urine analysis and urine culture were performed for all subjects. XZ and t-test were used for analysis of the data in- SPSS software. RESULTS Of the 400 icteric neonates, 147 (36.8%) were female and 253 (63.3%) were male; 23 (5.8%) were diagnosed to have UTI, 5 cases (1.3%) had G6PD deficiency, 19 (4.8%) had dysmorphic red blood cell and 3(0.75%) had ABO or RH incompatibility. The relation between the type of feeding, circumcision and UTI was significant (P< 0.05). Of the 23 neonates with UTI,4 cases (17. 39%) were found to have urogenital abnormality. CONCLUSION UTI was found in 5.8% of infants with late onset jaundice. The study revealed significant association between breast feeding, circumcision and lower prevalence of UTI in icteric neonates. It is suggested that evaluation for UTI should be considered as a screening test in all cases of neonatal late onset jaundice.