[Urinary tract infection: a search for evidence].
OBJECTIVE
To review urinary tract infection in children taking into consideration evidence-based medicine.


METHODS
search of Medline and Cochrane databases, comprising the period between 1996 and 2002, with the following key words: urinary infection, vesicoureteral reflux, children, adolescents, diagnosis and treatment. Cohort studies, quality assurance studies, consensus, meta-analysis studies, randomized controlled trials and audits were selected.


RESULTS
The studies were selected according to their methodology, relevance and clinical applicability. Some studies were selected based on the parameters proposed by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1999 for the diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infection in children between two months and two years of age.


CONCLUSIONS
Consensus statements on diagnosis and treatment of urinary infection in children and adolescents are still mostly opinion-based. Randomized multicentric controlled trials, with double-blind allocation are necessary to improve quality of diagnosis and management of pediatric urinary tract infection.
D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000652:urine*