Serious Bacterial Infections in Young Febrile Infants With Positive Urinalysis Results.

2022

09/2022

1098-4275

 

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of bacteremia and/or bacterial meningitis in febrile infants ≤60 days of age with positive urinalysis (UA) results.

METHODS: Secondary analysis of a prospective observational study of noncritical febrile infants ≤60 days between 2011 and 2019 conducted in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network emergency departments. Participants had temperatures ≥38°C and were evaluated with blood cultures and had UAs available for analysis. We report the prevalence of bacteremia and bacterial meningitis in those with and without positive UA results.

RESULTS: Among 7180 infants, 1090 (15.2%) had positive UA results. The risk of bacteremia was higher in those with positive versus negative UA results (63/1090 [5.8%] vs 69/6090 [1.1%], difference 4.7% [3.3% to 6.1%]). There was no difference in the prevalence of bacterial meningitis in infants ≤28 days of age with positive versus negative UA results (∼1% in both groups). However, among 697 infants aged 29 to 60 days with positive UA results, there were no cases of bacterial meningitis in comparison to 9 of 4153 with negative UA results (0.2%, difference -0.2% [-0.4% to -0.1%]). In addition, there were no cases of bacteremia and/or bacterial meningitis in the 148 infants ≤60 days of age with positive UA results who had the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network low-risk blood thresholds of absolute neutrophil count <4 × 103 cells/mm3 and procalcitonin <0.5 ng/mL.

CONCLUSIONS: Among noncritical febrile infants ≤60 days of age with positive UA results, there were no cases of bacterial meningitis in those aged 29 to 60 days and no cases of bacteremia and/or bacterial meningitis in any low-risk infants based on low-risk blood thresholds in both months of life. These findings can guide lumbar puncture use and other clinical decision making.

10.1542/peds.2021-055633

Pediatrics

36097858

Predicting Adverse Outcomes for Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli Infections in Emergency Departments.

2021

2021 Jan 05

1097-6833

<p><strong>OBJECTIVE: </strong>To assess the performance of a hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) severity score among children with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections and HUS by stratifying them according to their risk of adverse events. The score has not been previously evaluated in a North American acute care setting.</p>

<p><strong>STUDY DESIGN: </strong>We reviewed medical records of children &lt;18 years old infected with STEC and treated in one of 38 participating EDs in North America between 2011 and 2015. The HUS severity score [hemoglobin (g/dL) plus two-times serum creatinine (mg/dL)] was calculated using first available laboratory results. Children with scores &gt;13 were designated as high-risk. We assessed score performance to predict severe adverse events (ie, dialysis, neurologic complication, respiratory failure and death) using discrimination and net benefit (i.e. threshold probability), with subgroup analyses by age and day-of-illness.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>A total of 167 children had HUS, of whom 92.8% (155/167) had relevant data to calculate the score; 60.6% (94/155) experienced a severe adverse event. Discrimination was acceptable overall (AUC 0.71, 95% CI 0.63, 0.79) and better among children &lt;5 years old (AUC 0.77, 95% CI 0.68, 0.87). For children &lt;5 years, greatest net benefit was achieved for a threshold probability &gt;26%.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>The HUS severity score was able to discriminate between high- and low-risk children &lt;5 years old with STEC-associated HUS at a statistically acceptable level; however, it did not appear to provide clinical benefit at a meaningful risk threshold.</p>

10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.12.077

J Pediatr

33417918

Predicting Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome and Renal Failure in Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Infected Children.

2019

2019 May 24

1537-6591

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections are leading causes of pediatric acute renal failure. Identifying hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) risk factors is needed to guide care.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>We conducted a multicenter, historical-cohort study to identify features associated with development of HUS (primary outcome) and need for renal replacement therapy (RRT) (secondary outcome) in STEC-infected children without HUS at initial presentation. Children &lt;18 years who submitted STEC-positive specimens between January 2011 and December 2015 at a participating study institution were eligible.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Of 927 STEC-infected children, 41 (4.4%) had HUS at presentation; of the remaining 886, 126 (14.2%) developed HUS. Predictors of HUS included younger age (OR: 0.77; 95%CI: 0.69, 0.85/year), leukocyte count ≥13.0x103/μL (2.54; 1.42, 4.54), higher hematocrit (1.83; 1.21, 2.77/5% increase) and serum creatinine (10.82; 1.49, 78.69/1 mg/dL increase), platelet count &lt;250 ×103/μL (1.92; 1.02, 3.60), lower serum sodium (1.12; 1.02, 1.23/1 mmol/L decrease), and intravenous fluid administration initiated ≥4 days following diarrhea onset (2.50; 1.14, 5.46). A longer interval from diarrhea onset to index visit was associated with reduced HUS risk (0.70; 0.54, 0.90). RRT predictors included female sex (2.27; 1.14, 4.50), younger age (0.83; 0.74, 0.92/year), lower serum sodium (1.15; 1.04, 1.27/mmol/L decrease), higher leukocyte count ≥13.0x103/μL (2.35; 1.17, 4.72) and creatinine (7.75; 1.20, 50.16/1 mg/dL increase) concentrations, and initial intravenous fluid administration ≥4 days following diarrhea onset (2.71; 1.18, 6.21).</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>The complex nature of STEC infection renders predicting its course a challenge. Risk factors we identified highlight the importance of avoiding dehydration and performing close clinical and laboratory monitoring.</p>

10.1093/cid/ciz432

Clin. Infect. Dis.

31125419