Parental reporting of smelly urine and urinary tract infection.
Arch Dis Child
; 88(3): 250-2, 2003 Mar.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-12598394
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Parents often report that young children have "smelly urine" or a particular urinary odour. There is little evidence that these observations are relevant to the diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI).AIMS:
To determine whether parental reporting of smelly urine is of any relevance to the diagnosis of UTI in children less than 6 years of age.METHODS:
Parents whose children were having urine collected as part of their admission to a large district hospital were given a simple questionnaire to complete regarding the current smell of their child's urine. Parents were asked whether their child's urine smelled different from usual or had a particular smell. Microscopy and culture results of the child's urine were compared to their parent's questionnaire answers to see if there was a association between parental reporting of a different or particular urine smell and a diagnosis of UTI.RESULTS:
One hundred and ten questionnaires and urine samples were obtained. Fifty two per cent of parents thought that their child's urine smelled different from usual or had a particular smell. Only 6.4% of children were diagnosed as having a UTI. There was no statistically significant association between parental reporting of abnormal urine smell and diagnosis of UTI.CONCLUSION:
In determining whether a young child has a UTI, asking parents about urine smell is unlikely to be of benefit.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Parents
/
Urinary Tract Infections
/
Urine
/
Odorants
Type of study:
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Male
/
Newborn
Language:
En
Journal:
Arch Dis Child
Year:
2003
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: