Asymptomatic bacteriuria and antibiotic resistance profile in children with neurogenic bladder who require clean intermittent catheterization

Study design: A retrospective cohort study. Objectives: To document the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria and to characterize the resistance patterns to antibiotics among children with neurogenic bladder who require clean intermittent catheterization, with an emphasis on multidrug resistance. Setting: A national referral pediatric and adolescent rehabilitation facility in Jerusalem, Israel. Methods: Routine urine cultures were collected before urodynamic studies in suitable individuals during 2010–2018. None of them had symptoms of urinary tract infection at the time of specimen collection. Cultures were defined as being positive if a single bacterial species was isolated together with a growth of over 10⁵ colony-forming units/ml. Resistance patterns were defined as extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and resistant to 3 antimicrobial groups (multi-drug resistant, MDR). Results: In total, 281 urine cultures were available for 186 participants (median age 7 years, range 0.5–18). Etiologies for CIC included myelomeningocele (n = 137, 74%), spinal cord injury (n = 16, 9%) and caudal regression syndrome (n = 9, 5%). Vesicoureteral reflux was diagnosed in 36 participants (19%), 14 of whom were treated with prophylactic antibiotics. Asymptomatic bacteriuria was present in 217 specimens (77%, 95%CI [0.72–0.82]). The bacteria species were E. coli (71%), Klebsiella (13%), and Proteus (10%). ESBL was found in 11% of the positive cultures and MDR in 9%, yielding a total of 34 (16% of positive cultures) positive for ESBL and/or MDR bacteria. Conclusions: Asymptomatic bacteriuria and resistance to antimicrobials are common in pediatric individuals who require CIC.