Unexpected Neonatal Jaundice as an Early Diagnostic sign of Urinary Tract Infection

Background: Determination of contributing factors for jaundice would result in better programming for prevention. This study was performed to determine the prevalence rate of Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) among neonates with jaundice admitted in Arash Hospital from October 2013 to October 2014. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, term neonates with non-hemolytic jaundice admitted in Arash Hospital from October 2013 to October 2014 were evaluated for UTI by urine culture and the data were recorded by checklist using medical documents. Results: A total of 436 term infants were enrolled in the study. Mean age at the time of admission was 6.03±3.355 days with age range of 3-18 days including 291(0.66%) males and 145(0.33%) females. Urine culture was positive in 32 neonates (7.3%). The most common germs were Klebsiella in 37.5%, Escherichia coli (E. coli) in 21.9%, Staphylococcus in 9.4%, Pseudomonas in 3.1%, Enterococcus in 15.6%, Enterobacter in 9.4%, and Group B Streptococcus (GBS) in 3.1%. Conclusion: Urine culture should be a part of routine clinical evaluation for all icteric neonates at the age of 5-6 days or more who have no risk factors to exclude the possibility of coincidental UTI.