The Natural History of Recurrent Bacteriuria in Schoolgirls

Abstract

A long-term study of recurrent bacteriuria was carried out in girls in whom urinary-tract infection was detected during school surveys. In most of them management was limited to short-term, specific chemotherapy coupled with frequent follow-up examinations. Eighty per cent of recurrences were due to reinfection with a new organism. Each course of therapy extracted 20 to 25 per cent of white and about 40 per cent of Negro girls into long-term remission. Recurrences in the population closely followed a logarithmic decay curve, which demonstrated the marked effect of age and race. Socioeconomic status and vesicoureteral reflux had no significant effect on recurrence rates. Recurrences tended to be less frequent the longer the girls remained free of infection, but they were still at higher risk of acquiring bacteriuria than the general population. Marriage and pregnancy were times of increased risk.