Prevalence of Urinary Tract Infection in Newborns with Prolonged Jaundice in Bam City, Iran (2015)

Background: Jaundice is one of the most common diseases of the infancy period. It could be caused by different factors, including infections such as the urinary tract. The present study aims to evaluate the prevalence and causes of urinary tract infection in newborns. Materials and Methods: The present work is a cross-sectional study conducted on 100 newborns with jaundice hospitalized at the neonatal ward of the Pasteur Hospital of Bam or referred to its outpatient clinic. Participants were selected through convenient sampling. Besides the routine tests for jaundice, a urine sample was also taken from the newborns for culturing and evaluating urinary tract infection. After collecting the data, they were analyzed using the chi-square and t-tests. Results: According to the results, 41 (41%) of the newborns were girls, and 59 of them (59%) were boys. The prevalence of urinary tract infection among newborns with jaundice was 27%. The most common cause of infection was Escherichia Coli, and the rate of infection was lower among newborns breastfed compared to those fed by infant formula (p<0/05). Conclusions: The most common risk factors for neonatal jaundice were prematurity, blood type incompatibilities, delivery problems, and decreased breastfeeding. Given that one of the most important causes of long-term jaundice is a urinary tract infection, it may appear before other symptoms.