Pediatric Revisits, Admissions for UTI Similar With Oral or IV Meds

FRIDAY, Aug. 31, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Very young children with urinary tract infections (UTIs) who receive parenteral antibiotics before emergency department discharge do not have lower rates of revisits leading to admission than children receiving oral antibiotics, according to a study published online Aug. 21 in Pediatrics.

Pradip P. Chaudhari, M.D., from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the Keck School of Medicine, and colleagues analyzed administrative data from 36 pediatric hospitals to identify 29,919 patients (aged 29 days to 2 years) who were evaluated in the emergency department with a UTI (2010 to 2016). Emergency department revisits within three days of initial visit were evaluated.

The researchers found that 36 percent of the children received parenteral antibiotics before discharge. Adjusted rates of revisits leading to admission were similar between patients who received parenteral antibiotics and those who did not receive parenteral antibiotics (risk difference, 0.3 percent). However, overall revisit rates were higher among patients who received parenteral antibiotics (risk difference, 1.5 percent).

“Among discharged patients, a parenteral dose of antibiotics did not reduce revisits leading to admission, supporting the goal of discharging patients with oral antibiotics alone for most children with UTIs,” the authors write.

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