[Suprapubic bladder aspiration. Utility and complication].
OBJECTIVE: This study aims at evaluating the usefulness of suprapubic bladder aspiration (SBA) in order to diagnose urinary tract infection (UTI), enumerating the complications and describes those found in the existing literature. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We have reviewed the 668 SBAs carried out on 642 children over a period of 3 years. The ages of the children varied from neonate to 5 years. Urine cultures were regarded as positive when any one single germ showed bacterial growth signs. RESULTS: Ninety-four UTIs, 14.6% of the total samples studied, were detected, five of which were in newborns. Infection by Escherichia coli comprised 87.2% of the total. Two complications were observed: needle breakage and vaginal bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: SBA is a reliable method, with hardly any complications, and is essential for the accurate diagnosis of UTI. However, it must be used with a more restrictive criterion in the neonatal period.