The Importance of Early Treatment for UTI in Children

Data from two randomized, longitudinal studies were retrospectively analyzed to determine whether a delay in starting antibiotic therapy in children with proven febrile urinary tract infection (UTI) was associated with renal scarring.

Participants in the original studies were aged 2 to 72 months and underwent dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scans at baseline and after 2 years of prospective follow-up. The current analysis included 482 children, of whom 90% were girls, 78% were white, and 92% were infected with Escherichia coli.

Overall, 7.2% of children had new renal scarring at follow-up DMSA scan. The median duration of fever prior to initiation of antibiotics was significantly longer in those children found to have new renal scarring (72 vs…