Pivmecillinam in the treatment of childhood pyelonephritis.

In a prospective study, twenty children with a mean age of 4 years were treated with pivmecillinam, 25 mg to 40 mg per kilogram body-weight and day, for acute pyelonephritis. Urine cultures yielded growth of E. coli in sixteen instances, Klebsiella spp. in two, S. saprophyticus in one and a mixed Gram-positive flora in one patient. All children fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for upper urinary tract infection. In all cases where Gram-negative pathogens were responsible, the infections were eradicated. One reinfection was registered in a child with a concomitantly discovered congenital urological malformation. Pivmecillinam also cured one patient infected with S. saprophyticus but was ineffective in the case of mixed Gram-positive flora. It is concluded that pivmecillinam is a valuable new drug for the management of pyelonephritis in children, as most of these infections are caused by Gram-negative organisms.