An Unexpected Agent in a Child with Urinary Tract Infection: Haemophilus influenzae

Abstract

Haemophilus influenzae, particularly in children, causes local and systemic infections such as meningitis, pneumonia, epiglottitis, otitis media, sinusitis and bacteremia. This bacterium has rarely been implicated as the causative agent of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children. Most of the reported cases on UTIs due to H. influenzae were associated with urinary tract abnormalities and/or recurrent UTIs. Because of the inability of H. influenzae to grow in standard media commonly used for urine cultures, the true incidence of UTIs due to this potential pathogen is unknown. In this report, we present a case of UTI caused by H. influenzae in a 17-year-old boy with bilateral nephrolithiasis and hydronephrosis. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of UTI caused by H. influenzae in Turkey.