Antibiotic Resistance Patterns in Pediatric Urinary Tract Infections: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background:

UT Is represented some of the most common bacterial infections within children which can result in substantial health problems as improper treatment develops. Empirical antibiotic treatment methods become more difficult because of rising antibiotic resistance among uropathies. To prioritize effective treatment choices and prevent both treatment failure and renal injury in children healthcare providers must follow local resistance patterns.

Objectives:

Study aims to identify the bacterial pathogens which commonly cause urinary tract infections in children and to evaluate their resistance patterns in order to develop better empirical treatment plans for clinical practice.

Study design: A Prospective Study.

Place and duration of study. Department of pediatric MTI,LRH Peshawar  from July 2023 to December 2023

Methods:The study took place Department of pediatric MTI,LRH Peshawar  from July 2023 to December 2023 . The study enrolled patients from 1 month to 16 years old who met the criteria of clinical UTI diagnosis and tested positive for urine cultures. The studiers collected urine samples from the middle stream of the urinary tract and processed them through standard microbiological procedures. The laboratory executed antibiotic susceptibility testing through procedures described by CLSI guidelines. The statistical evaluation was performed through SPSS version 24.0, and p-values less than 0.05 determined statistical significance.

Results: The study included 100 children who had UTI confirmed by culture results. Patients enrolled in the study had an average age of 6.2 ± 3.5 years. Escherichia coli accounted for 65% of UTI cases while Klebsiella species presented at 18% and Proteus species affected 7% of cases together with assorted microorganisms at 10%. The analyzed bacteria showed highest resistance toward ampicillin at 78% while also displaying high resistance to cotrimoxazole at 65% and ceftriaxone at 48%. The sensitivity rates of carbapenems and nitrofurantoin tested at 93% and 88% showed strong antibiotic effectiveness against UTI. Forty-two percent of isolated microorganisms displayed resistance to multiple drugs. Empirical therapy needs age-specific approaches because a significant age-based resistance discrepancy emerged in the analysis (p=0.03).

Conclusion:

Escherichia coli stands as the leading pathogen causing UT Is in paediatric patients even though first-line antibiotics prove insufficient against bacterial strains. The antibiotic drugs nitrofurantoin and carbapenems proved most effective in treating uropathies. The high rate of multidrug resistance requires treatment decisions to be made according to local antibiogram data. The prevention of antibiotic resistance developments and the best possible clinical results for children require constant monitoring along with antibiotic management programs.