Incidence of Urinary Tract Infection among Newborns with Indirect Hyperbilirubinaemia

Jaundice is a frequently encountered problem during the newborn period. Although up to 60% of term newborns have clinical jaundice in the first week of life, few have a significant underlying disease. However, it can be associated with severe illnesses such as hemolytic disease, metabolic and endocrine disorders, enzymatic deficiencies of the liver and infections.Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common clinical problem in febrile infants younger than 8 weeks old, with prevalence between 5% and 11%. Previous studies have noted that jaundice may be one of the first signs of a bacterial infection in infantsThe clinical manifestations of UTIs in newborn infants are extremely variable, ranging from severe illness to nonspecific signs and symptoms, such as growth failure, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, irritability, lethargy, abnormal urination with oliguria, polyuria or malodorous urine, and jaundice.Our study was conducted on forty full term neonates with neonatal jaundice, 24 males and 16 females. They were selected from the NICU in Zagazig University hospital.Newborns were recruited during the study period from January 2010 to May 2010.