Relationship between pinworm and urinary tract infections in young girls.

Urinary tract infection is particularly common in young girls and Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm) is one of the most prevalent worms found in children worldwide. Young girls, with or without urinary tract infection, were examined for pinworms in order to explore a possible relationship between these two problems. Of the 55 young girls with urinary tract infection, 20 (36.4%) had pinworm eggs in the perianal and/or perineal region monitored using the cellophane tape method, while 9 (16.4%) of 55 young girls who had never previously had a urinary tract infection were found to have Enterobius eggs in at least one of the cellophane tape tests, and the difference was found to be significant (p<0.05). These results suggested that urinary tract infections may be related to pinworms. When a urinary tract infection is diagnosed in young girls, cellulose tape should be applied to both the perianal and the perineal regions on at least three consecutive occasions.