Epidemiology of Bacteremia in Febrile Infants Aged 60 Days and Younger

Elizabeth C. Powell, Prashant V. Mahajan, Genie Roosevelt, John D. Hoyle, Rajender Gattu, Andrea T. Cruz, Alexander J. Rogers, Shireen M. Atabaki, David M. Jaffe, T. Charles Casper, Octavio Ramilo, Nathan Kuppermann

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82 Scopus citations

Abstract

Study objective: To describe the current epidemiology of bacteremia in febrile infants 60 days of age and younger in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN). Methods: We conducted a planned secondary analysis of a prospective observational study of febrile infants 60 days of age and younger presenting to any of 26 PECARN emergency departments (2008 to 2013) who had blood cultures obtained. We excluded infants with significant comorbidities or critically ill appearance. The primary outcome was prevalence of bacteremia. Results: Of 7,335 screened infants, 4,778 (65.1%) had blood cultures and were enrolled. Of these patients, 84 had bacteremia (1.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4% to 2.2%). The prevalence of bacteremia in infants aged 28 days or younger (47/1,515) was 3.1% (95% CI 2.3% to 4.1%); in infants aged 29 to 60 days (37/3,246), 1.1% (95% CI 0.8% to 1.6%). Prevalence differed by week of age for infants 28 days of age and younger (0 to 7 days: 4/156, 2.6%; 8 to 14 days: 19/356, 5.3%; 15 to 21 days: 15/449, 3.3%; and 22 to 28 days: 9/554, 1.6%). The most common pathogens were Escherichia coli (39.3%; 95% CI 29.5% to 50.0%) and group B streptococcus (23.8%; 95% CI 16.0% to 33.9%). Bacterial meningitis occurred in 19 of 1,515 infants 28 days of age and younger (1.3%; 95% CI 0.8% to 2.0%) and 5 of 3,246 infants aged 29 to 60 days (0.2%; 95% CI 0.1% to 0.4%). Of 84 infants with bacteremia, 36 (42.9%; 95% CI 32.8% to 53.5%) had urinary tract infections (E coli 83%); 11 (13.1%; 95% CI 7.5% to 21.9%) had bacterial meningitis. Conclusion: The prevalence of bacteremia and meningitis among febrile infants 28 days of age and younger is high and exceeds that observed in infants aged 29 to 60 days. E coli and group B streptococcus are the most common bacterial pathogens.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)211-216
Number of pages6
JournalAnnals of Emergency Medicine
Volume71
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2018

Funding

Funding and support: By Annals policy, all authors are required to disclose any and all commercial, financial, and other relationships in any way related to the subject of this article as per ICMJE conflict of interest guidelines (see www.icmje.org ). The research reported in this publication was supported in part by grant H34MCO8509 from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Emergency Services for Children, and by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award R01HD062477. This project was also supported in part by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) and the Emergency Medical Services for Children Network Development Demonstration Program under cooperative agreements U03MC00008, and is partially supported by MCHB cooperative agreements U03MC00001, U03MC00003, U03MC00006, U03MC00007, U03MC22684, and U03MC22685. Dr. Ramilo reports personal fees from HuMabs, Abbvie, Janssen, Medimmune, and Regeneron, and grants from Janssen. Funding and support: By Annals policy, all authors are required to disclose any and all commercial, financial, and other relationships in any way related to the subject of this article as per ICMJE conflict of interest guidelines (see www.icmje.org). The research reported in this publication was supported in part by grant H34MCO8509 from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Emergency Services for Children, and by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award R01HD062477. This project was also supported in part by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) and the Emergency Medical Services for Children Network Development Demonstration Program under cooperative agreements U03MC00008, and is partially supported by MCHB cooperative agreements U03MC00001, U03MC00003, U03MC00006, U03MC00007, U03MC22684, and U03MC22685. Dr. Ramilo reports personal fees from HuMabs, Abbvie, Janssen, Medimmune, and Regeneron, and grants from Janssen.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Emergency Medicine

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