Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022;31(6):562-569.
doi: 10.1159/000527640. Epub 2022 Oct 29.

Etiology and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns of Urinary Tract Infections in Children in a General Hospital in Kuwait: A 5-Year Retrospective Study

Khalifa Al Benwan  1   2 , Wafaa Jamal  2   3
Affiliations

Etiology and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns of Urinary Tract Infections in Children in a General Hospital in Kuwait: A 5-Year Retrospective Study

Khalifa Al Benwan et al. Med Princ Pract. 2022.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the bacterial profile and prevalence of antibiotic resistance patterns of uropathogens, as well as to evaluate the problem with extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs)-producing isolates, causing urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children in Al-Amiri Hospital, Kuwait, over a 5-year period.

Materials and methods: Significant isolates from symptomatic pediatric patients with UTIs from January 2017 to December 2021 were identified by conventional methods and by the VITEK 2 identification card system. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by the disk diffusion method for Gram-positive organisms and an automated VITEK 2 system for Gram-negative organisms. ESBL-producing Enterobacterales were detected by the double-disk diffusion method and VITEK 2 system.

Results: Significant bacteriuria was detected in 13.7% of the 9,742 urine samples. Escherichia coli accounted for 67.3% of these, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (8.9%), Proteus spp. (5.7%), and Enterococcus spp. (7.4%), respectively. High resistance rates were observed among the Enterobacterales against ampicillin, cephalothin, nitrofurantoin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. The prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae was 26% and 55%, respectively. The most sensitive among the antibiotics tested for Gram-negative organisms were meropenem, amikacin, gentamicin, and piperacillin/tazobactam, while the antibiotics tested for Gram-positive organisms were vancomycin, ampicillin, linezolid, and nitrofurantoin.

Conclusion: E. coli remains the most common uropathogen. A high percentage of uropathogens causing UTI in children were highly resistant to the first- and second-line antibiotics for the therapy of UTI. ESBL-producing bacteria were highly prevalent in children in our hospital. Local antibiograms should be used to assist with empirical UTI treatment.

Keywords: Antibiotic susceptibility; Children; Etiology; Kuwait; Urinary tract infection.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Shaikh N, Craig JC, Rovers MM, Da Dalt L, Gardikis S, Hoberman A, et al. Identification of children and adolescents at risk for renal scarring after a first urinary tract infection a meta-analysis with individual patient data. JAMA Pediatr. 2014 Oct;168((10)):893–900. - PubMed
    1. Ismaili K, Wissing KM, Lolin K, Le PQ, Christophe C, Lepage P, et al. Characteristics of first urinary tract infection with fever in children a prospective clinical and imaging study. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2011 May;30((5)):371–374. - PubMed
    1. Hiraoka M, Hashimoto G, Tsuchida S, Tsukahara H, Ohshima Y, Mayumi M. Early treatment of urinary infection prevents renal damage on cortical scintigraphy. Pediatr Nephrol. 2003 Feb;18((2)):115–118. - PubMed
    1. Doganis D, Siafas K, Mavrikou M, Issaris G, Martirosova A, Perperidis G, et al. Does early treatment of urinary tract infection prevent renal damage? Pediatrics. 2007 Oct;120((4)):e922–e928. - PubMed
    1. Al Sweih N, Jamal W, Rotimi VO. Spectrum and antibiotic resistance of uropathogens isolated from hospital and community patients with urinary tract infections in two large hospitals in Kuwait. Med Princ Pract. 2005 Nov-Dec;14((6)):401–407. - PubMed