Sospecha de infección urinaria en el lactante menor de 3 meses¿cuándo realizar una punción lumbar?

Abstract

Objective: To study the rate of bacterial meningitis among infants aged 0-3 months with suspicion of urinary tract infection. Methods: This retrospective chart review involved all children younger than 3 months with pathologic rapid urine testing by urethral catheterization in the emergency department. Lumbar puncture was performed in all children <1 month and every child 1-3 months with septic appearance. The study was conducted from October 2004 to July 2010. Results: The study sample included 290 children with suspicion of urinary tract infection, of whom 76% boys and 24% girls; 43% of all patients were younger than one month. Urinary tract infection was confirmed by positive urine culture in 230 children, 9 of whom (3.2%) had bacteraemia associated. Lumbar puncture was performed on 167 patients (58%), of whom 7 (4%) had CSF pleocytosis. All CSF cultures were negative except of a case of a neonate 24 days old with meningitis and urinary tract infection caused by Escherichia coli. Conclusions: The incidence of bacterial meningitis among infants aged 0-3 months with suspicion of urinary tract infection was 0.6% in our study. It is important to reconsider the performance of lumbar puncture systematically in these children, although it is still need in children aged less than 1 month and in cases where there is clinical or laboratory test suspicion of serious bacterial infection.