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Urine has an odor, but often parents describe the odor of their child's urine as stronger or more objectionable than usual. To determine whether parent report of urine odor is a reliable indicator of urinary tract infection (UTI), Canadian researchers analyzed symptom questionnaires for 331 children (age range, 1–36 months) who presented to an emergency department with symptoms suggestive of UTI (>90% had fever without source, others had unexplained vomiting or irritability without fever). Urine obtained for culture was collected by bladder catheterization (90%), midstream clean catch (9%), or suprapubic aspiration (1%). Questionnaires were completed before urinalysis results were known.
Fifteen percent of children had a UTI (defined as a po…