First-Line Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns of Escherichia coli in Children With Urinary Tract Infection in Emergency Department and Primary Care Clinics.

OBJECTIVE

To identify risk factors for antibiotic resistance to Escherichia coli (E. coli) in children with urinary tract infections (UTIs) in emergency room and primary care clinics.

METHOD: This is a cross-sectional study of children 0 to 18 years of age reported to have E coli-positive UTIs whose medical and laboratory records were systematically reviewed.

RESULT: Compared with girls, boys were 2.29 times (confidence interval [CI] = 1.30-4.02) more likely to have E coli isolates resistant to ampicillin and 2 times more likely (CI = 1.13-3.62) to have isolates resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX). Patients with genitourinary abnormalities were 1.57 times more likely to be resistant to ampicillin (CI = 1.03-2.41) and 1.86 times to TMP/SMX (CI = 1.18-2.94).

CONCLUSION

Higher rates of ampicillin and TMP/SMX resistant urinary E coli isolates were observed among boys and children with a history of genitourinary abnormality. Age and recent antibiotic prescription are also potential risk factors for resistance.