Management of antibacterial therapy of infectious and inflammatory diseases of the urinary tract in children and regional peculiarities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) remain an urgent issue in clinical pediatrics. Empirical selection of antibacterial therapy becomes more complicated, and antibacterial drug indication is not always clinically substantiated. This study aimed to compare the antibacterial susceptibility pattern of the main group of urinary tract infectious agents from 2009–2016 with intermediate results from 2020–2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, among children in the Chernivtsi region. Urine samples were collected from 3089 children (0–17 years old) treated at the health care institutions in the Chernivtsi region (2009–2016). The clinical-laboratory examination of 177 children (0–17 years old) was carried out from 2020 to 2021. The children received specialized medical care at the Department of Nephrology. Preliminary data of regional monitoring (2020–2021) are not considerably different from the previous regional susceptibility of antibiotics: to penicillin (p<0.01), ІІ-ІІІ generation cephalosporin (p<0.01); an increased resistance to levofloxacin (χ(2)=4,338; p<0.01), tetracycline – χ(2)=7,277; p<0.01; doxycycline – χ(2)=5,309; p<0.01) and imipenem – χ(2)=5,594; p<0.01). The data obtained did not explain an increased resistance to fluoroquinolones completely (ofloxacin, pefloxacin, ciprofloxacin), except for levofloxacin (χ(2)=4,338; p<0.01). A reliable difference of susceptibility of tetracycline group was registered (tetracycline – χ(2)=7,277; p<0.01; doxycycline – χ(2)=5,309; p<0.01). Furthermore, there was a regional increase in some UTI-pathogen strains resistant to carbapenems (imipenem – χ(2)=5,594; p<0.01). The use of antibiotics from the group of penicillins and II-III generation cephalosporins as the starting antibacterial therapy for STIs during the COVID-19 pandemic should be justified. A regional increase (2020–2021) of some uropathogenic strains resistant to carbapenems administered to treat severe bacterial infections requires their exclusively designated purpose in everyday pediatric practical work.