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Abstract Background: Prolonged jaundice is defined as a type of icterus lasting over 14 days in term neonates or over 21 days in preterm neonates. Various pathologic causes such as urinary tract infection may induce prolonged jaundice. Objective: To determine the prevalence of urinary tract infection in neonates with prolonged jaundice. Methods: This was a cross sectional study carried out at Aliasghar hospital in Zahedan (Iran) during 2005. A total of 230 neonates with prolonged jaundice were investigated, conveniently. Using a urine bag, single sample was collected from all patients followed by culture. In case of a positive urine culture (>105 CFU/ml of a single pathogen), a second urine sample was taken by suprapubic method and cultured again. The reappearance of previously identified single pathogen was indicative of the presence of urinary tract infection. The data were analyzed using Chi2 statistical test. Findings: Out of 230 neonates, 138 (60%) were males and 92 (40%) females. Positive urine culture was identified in 17 (7.4%) samples while the majority of samples (213) produced negative results. The organisms isolated in urine cultures were E coli in 13 samples (76.5%), Klebsiella in 3 cases (17.6%) and Staphylococcus aureus in 1 sample (5.9%). Regarding the gender, no statistically significant difference between the prevalence of urinary tract infection and the types of pathogens was found. Conclusion: Based on our data, a urine culture should be considered while bilirubin work-up of infants with unknown etiology of prolonged jaundice is carried out.

Keywords: Keywords: Neonatal Jaundice, Urinary Tract Infection in Infancy and Childhood, Diagnosis

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