Determination of the Effectiveness of Two Different Noninvasive Stimulation Methods in Urine Collection in Infants

Urinary tract infections are common in children. Urine samples and urinalysis are needed to confirm the diagnosis of urinary tract infection. Various invasive and noninvasive techniques are used for urine sample collection in children. These techniques include suprapubic aspiration, urinary catheterization, a sterile urine bag, and clean catch techniques. The clean catch technique is a commonly used noninvasive technique for urine sample collection in children. Parents have described clean catch urine collection in children who are not toilet-trained as time-consuming and complex. Alternative techniques that stimulate voiding in children who are not toilet-trained, allowing for quicker collection of urine samples using clean catch techniques, are beneficial. The noninvasive stimulation methods whose effectiveness in infant urine collection will be evaluated in this study are bladder stimulation and suprapubic cutaneous stimulation.

Inclusion criteria

• A urine sample must be collected due to suspicion of a urinary tract infection,
• The infant must be being fed orally,
• The skin in the area where the maneuver will be performed must be intact,
• The infant must be conscious and have stable vital signs.
• The infant must be from families that can speak and understand Turkish and are willing to participate in the study

Exclusion criteria

• Presence of respiratory distress and signs of dehydration,
• Presence of a diagnosed chronic health problem,
• Presence of a neurological or anatomical abnormality that may affect bladder function,
• Presence of any diagnostic suspicion (distension, intussusception, appendicitis, etc.) that would preclude the application of the stimulation maneuver,
• Presence of cold stress.