URINARY-INFECTION IN CHILDREN IN GENERAL-PRACTICE - LABORATORY VIEW

Children with urinary infection present at first to their general practitioners; pediatricians to whom they may be referred must assess the validity of the bacteriological diagnosis made at that time. The laboratory findings in 2204 mid-stream urine specimens from 1586 children 2-12 yr old were examined during the course of 1 yr. The contamination rate was low; 8% of the specimens from boys and 19% of those from girls showed definite infection, and the ratio of infections in boys to girls was 1:4. There was a considerable difference in the infecting organisms in the sexes. Analysis of the reasons for sending the specimens revealed that a high percentage of children who complained of urinary symptoms did not have infection. Of the children complaining of enuresis only there was a significantly greater incidence of infection in girls than in boys. In the absence of any large studies of urinary infection in domiciliary practice, data from a laboratory which serves many practitioners can contribute to knowledge of the disease.