New, Controversial Guidelines from the U.K. for Children with UTI

The NICE guidelines differ from previous guidelines in that they recommend oral rather than parenteral antibiotics, less imaging, and little or no prophylactic antibiotics.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE; the U.K. equivalent of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, but with more fiscal responsibility) recently released a detailed clinical guideline on the diagnosis, treatment, and management of urinary tract infection (UTI) in children younger than 16 years. The recommendations focus on accurate diagnosis and effective treatment, including when to consider a diagnosis of UTI (children with unexplained fever ≥38°C or suggestive signs and symptoms) and how to obtain and analyze urine samples (by culture, microscopy, or dipstick testing) and provide antibiotic treatment and follow-up. Controversial changes from previous recommendations include:

Infants younger than 3 months shou…

New, Controversial Guidelines from the U.K. for Children with UTI

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