Question:
Female, 6 months old, UPD
My 6mo old tested positive for a UTI today (culture result: Klebsiella pneumoniae). She has no other symptoms besides occasional foul-smelling urine. One concern is the duration that the infection has gone untreated. I first noticed her urine about 2 weeks ago but second guessed for a while until a few days ago when I decided it had been long enough, I should get things checked out.
Do I just let the antibiotics run their course and be more proactive next time? Or should I be concerned of a potentially more serious issue at hand that is being masked by her lack of fever, PWS symptoms etc.? The doc mentioned for recurrent cases they rec an ultrasound (this is her 1st) but is that something I should push for? Is the ultrasound time sensitive? Or should it be done after she is over the UTI?
Nurse Lynn’s Response:
Thank you for your question. I am sorry to hear that your daughter has a UTI. Having UTI’s that are undiagnosed can be quite common in our individuals. This is in part due to the high pain threshold and temperature abnormalities in PWS. Some of our older individuals can struggle with personal hygiene issues that set them up for urinary infections also.
I would just let the antibiotics run their course. I assume that a urine culture was done and that came back with the type of antibiotic that would treat her infection. It would not be unreasonable to ask for another UA to be done after her course of antibiotic is finished to make sure the infection is gone. I would not be overly concerned that there is anything more serious going on right now. Now you know to be on the lookout for foul smelling urine or discolored urine you can hopefully catch the infection at an earlier point. (Hopefully there aren’t any more.)
Ultrasounds are typically done with recurring infections to make sure there are no irregularities that would require additional treatment. It may be difficult while she is in diapers but, she should be putting out around the same fluid that she is taking in. For instance, if she is only having 1 wet diaper daily while she is maintaining her normal fluid intake, that would be concerning.
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