ABSTRACT
Fever is a common presenting symptom, and the true prevalence of urinary tract infection [UTI] in pre-school febrile children with or without other symptoms is not known. To determine the prevalence of UTI in febrile children referring to the pediatric clinics or emergency rooms in Shiraz. During a 6-month period, 450 patients aged 3 to 6 years old, were divided into 3 equal groups. The first group had fever with no other symptoms or signs, the second group had symptoms that could be related to the urinary tract, and the third group had other symptoms. After obtaining a complete history and physical examination, urinalysis and urine culture were performed for each patient. In suspicious urine cultures [104- 105 colonies or mixed growth] or those with positive urine cultures [>105 colonies] but no urinary symptoms, the cultures were repeated. Twenty patients were labelled as having UTI [one girl in the first group, 3 boys and 13 girls in the second group, and 2 boys and one girl in the third group]. Male to female ratio was 1.36. Only one out of ten patients with a history of previous UTI had positive urine cultures. In 44 patients oral antibiotics had been started before this study, and all except 3 had negative urine cultures. In febrile children 3 to 6 years old with no history of previous UTI, infection of the urinary tract is not usual, unless a urinary symptom is present