Q: My child has fever and the doctor has advised me to do get his urine testes. When this was done, the report showed pus cells - full and the normal count is 0 to 5. The doctor has given an antibiotic - Cepime 50. Please give advice why these pus cells are high in number and how dangerous is this for the child? Is the medicine correct?

A:Your son has developed urinary tract infection as he has fever with several pus cells on urine microscopy. The confirmation of the diagnosis is by urine culture, which will reveal the microbe responsible and the most appropriate antibiotic to treat the infection. Since the culture report will take a minimum of 48 hours in most cases, most physicians would like to start treatment with an antibiotic of their choice till reports are available. The choice antibiotic depends on the usual organisms isolated in that area and their antibiotic sensitivity pattern. Cefipime is one of them. It is unusual for boys to develop urinary infection at such an early age. Hence further investigations including an ultrasound of the abdomen will be necessary to detect whether any congenital abnormalities of the urinary tract are present.