Incidence of urinary tract infection in an inner-city outpatient population.

Premature neonates have been shown to be at increased risk for the development of urinary tract infections. To determine whether this risk persists after the newborn period, we evaluated the incidence of urinary tract infection in children attending an inner-city clinic during a 4-year period. Patients were categorized as premature if born at < 36 weeks' gestational age. Urinalyses were done on 13,683 samples obtained at ages 1, 6, and 12 months and yearly from 2 through 12 years for screening or to evaluate symptoms. The urinalysis had abnormal results in 17%, but only 3.6% of these subsequently had positive urine culture results. Forty children had 85 episodes of bacteriuria, with 37 (44%) of the cases associated with symptoms. The incidence of bacteriuria was 0.9% and 0.1% in premature and term infants, respectively (p < 0.0001). All seven male children had the initial infection in the first year of life. We found a significant association between prematurity and the risk for bacteriuria persisting through the first year of life.