Fever in the Young Infant

2020 ◽  
pp. 75-81
Author(s):  
Paul Ishimine

Fever is the most common complaint of children who present to the emergency department. Approximately 12% of febrile neonates (aged 0–28 days) and young infants (aged 29—56 days) have serious bacterial infections (bacteremia, meningitis, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, bacterial gastroenteritis, and osteomyelitis). The evaluation and management of the febrile neonate and febrile young infant can be confusing. All febrile neonates require diagnostic testing, treatment with antibiotics, and hospital admission. The workup of the febrile young infant is more controversial. These patients should undergo blood and urine testing, but the need for lumbar puncture is controversial, as is the need for empiric antibiotic treatment. The disposition of these patients will depend on the results of these screening tests.

2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 313
Author(s):  
Ni Putu Veny Kartika Yantie ◽  
BNP Arhana ◽  
Purnomo Suryantoro

Background There is a debate on the use of high fever \\lith othermorbidities to predict serious bacterial infection (SBI). Bacterialinfection occurs in 3􀁉15% of children with fever of 2: 39°C.Various laboratory parameters including increased C􀁉reactiveprotein (CRP) levels, leukocyte counts, and absolute neutrophilcounts (AN C) have been studied for their usefulness in predictingthe occurrence of SBI, but with varied results. The ability todiscriminate whether a patient has a SBI can lead to improvedpatient management.Objective To evaluate fever of 2: 39°C, leukocyte counts of2: 15,000/mm3, ANC of 2: 1O,000/mm3 and CRP of 2: 10 mgiL aspredictors of SBI in children aged 1 month􀁉 18 years.Methods A case􀁉controlled study was conducted by collectingdata from medical records at Sanglah Hospital, Denpasar. Subjectsin the case group were diagnosed \\lith SBls (bacterial meningitis,bacterial pneumonia, bacteremia or sepsis, urinary tract infections,or bacterial gastroenteritis), and subjects in the control group nonserious bacterial infections (non􀁉SBI). Data was analyzed usingbivariate and multivariate methods \\lith 95% confidence intervalsand a statistical significance value ofP <0.05.Results Sixty subjects were studied, \\lith 30 subjects in the casegroup and 30 in the control group. Baseline characteristics ofsubjects were similar between the two groups. Fever and CRP werepredictors ofSBI [OR8.71 (95% CI 1.61 t046.98), P 􀀁 0.009; andOR 6.20 (95% CI 1.58 to 24.24), P 􀀁 0.012, respectively].Conclusion Fever 2: 39°C and CRP 2: 10 mgiL were significantpredictors of serious bacterial infections in children. [Paediatrrndones, 2012;52:313-6].


2018 ◽  
pp. 257-262
Author(s):  
Temima Waltuch

This case reviews the workup and management of febrile infants less than 3 months of age. These infants are a unique population as their immune systems are immature, placing them at increased risk for serious bacterial infections. Most febrile infants have self-limited viral illnesses; however, it is important to identify those that have a coexisting or isolated bacterial illness. Febrile infants <28 days require a full sepsis workup and admission to the hospital for monitoring and parenteral empiric antibiotic treatment. Workup and management of febrile infants between 29 and 90 days present more of a controversy in the literature. At minimum, infants 1 to 2 months of age will have blood and urine cultures performed, while the lumbar puncture is dependent on their individual risk stratification. Workup for infants 2 to 3 months of age will be completely dependent on risk stratification.


2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 930-937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex M Cressman ◽  
Derek R MacFadden ◽  
Amol A Verma ◽  
Fahad Razak ◽  
Nick Daneman

Abstract Background Physicians face competing demands of maximizing pathogen coverage while minimizing unnecessary use of broad-spectrum antibiotics when managing sepsis. We sought to identify physicians’ perceived likelihood of coverage achieved by their usual empiric antibiotic regimen, along with minimum thresholds of coverage they would be willing to accept when managing these patients. Methods We conducted a scenario-based survey of internal medicine physicians from across Canada using a 2 × 2 factorial design, varied by infection source (undifferentiated vs genitourinary) and severity (mild vs severe) denoted by the Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score. For each scenario, participants selected their preferred empiric antibiotic regimen, estimated the likelihood of coverage achieved by that regimen, and considered their minimum threshold of coverage. Results We had 238 respondents: 87 (36.6%) residents and 151 attending physicians (63.4%). The perceived likelihood of antibiotic coverage and minimum thresholds of coverage (with interquartile range) for each scenario were as follows: (1) severe undifferentiated, 90% (89.5%–95.0%) and 90% (80%–95%), respectively; (2) mild undifferentiated, 89% (80%–95%) and 80% (70%–89.5%); (3) severe genitourinary, 91% (87.3%–95.0%) and 90% (80.0%–90.0%); and (4) mild genitourinary, 90% (81.8%–91.3%) and 80% (71.8%–90%). Illness severity and infectious disease specialty predicted higher thresholds of coverage whereas less clinical experience and lower self-reported prescribing intensity predicted lower thresholds of coverage. Conclusions Pathogen coverage of 80% and 90% are physician-acceptable thresholds for managing patients with mild and severe sepsis from bacterial infections. These data may inform clinical guidelines and decision-support tools to improve empiric antibiotic prescribing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 170-175
Author(s):  
Dr. Savitha B Hiremath ◽  

Introduction: Urinary tract infections are the most common bacterial infections in pregnancy.Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) refers to the presence of bacteria in the urine of an individualwithout symptoms of urinary tract infection. ASB which occurs in 2-11% of pregnancies is a majorpredisposition to the development of pyelonephritis. Aims and objectives: The aims and objectivesof the study were to: Study the effectiveness of various screening tests: urine microscopy, gramstain, catalase test, leukocyte esterase test and nitrite test and to compare their sensitivity,specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value. Materials and Methods: Thestudy included 500 pregnant women attending the outpatient department over 18 months. The urinesamples collected in sterile containers were screened for urine microscopy, gram stain, catalase test,leukocyte esterase test and nitrite test. The samples were processed on CLED (Cysteine lactoseelectrolyte deficient) agar as the standard against which other screening tests are identified.Results: Gram’s stain (89.34%) was the most sensitive of all and the least reliable test was thecatalase test among the methods of screening tests. Conclusion: Urine culture is considered to bethe gold standard in detecting ASB in pregnant women. Gram’s stain of urine is a good screeningtest when compared to other screening methods. Screening for bacteria in all trimesters isnecessary to prevent the dangerous complications associated with ASB.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. S16-S16
Author(s):  
Sara Kim ◽  
Avni Bhatt ◽  
Silvana Carr ◽  
Frances Saccoccio ◽  
Judy Lew

Abstract Background Procalcitonin (PCT) and c-reactive protein (CRP) have been utilized in children to assess risk for serious bacterial infections. However, there have been different cut-offs reported for PCT and CRP, which yield different sensitivity and specificity. This study aims to compare the sensitivity and specificity of PCT and CRP in detecting serious bacterial infections (SBIs), specifically urinary tract infections, bacteremia and meningitis. Methods In this retrospective, single center cohort study from January 2018 to June 2019, we analyzed children with a fever greater than 38C with both PCT and CRP value within 24 hours of admission. Each patient had a blood, urine and/or cerebrospinal fluid culture collected within 48 hours of admission. No antibiotics were administered from the admitting hospital prior to collection of the PCT or CRP. Our gold standard was a positive culture obtained from blood, cerebrospinal fluid, or urine. The statistical analysis included categorical variables as percentages and compared them using the Fisher exact test. The optimal cutoff values for PCT or CRP were based on ROC curve analysis and Youden Index. Sensitivity and specificity analysis were based on literature review cut offs and ROC curves cut offs. Results Among 202 children, we had 45 culture positive patients (11 urinary tract infections, 4 meningitis, and 32 bacteremia). The patients with culture positivity had higher PCT levels (7.9 ng/mL vs 2.5 ng/mL, P=0.0111), CRP levels (110.9 mg/L vs 49.6 mg/L, P&lt;0.0001) and temperature (39.2C vs 39C, P&lt;0.0052). The area under the curve (AUC) comparing culture positivity vs negativity for all culture types was 0.72 (p&lt;0.0001) for PCT and 0.66 (p=0.001) for CRP. In Figure 1, the AUC for culture positive bacteremia was 0.68 (p=0.0011) for PCT and 0.70 (p=0.0003). The AUC for culture positive urinary tract infections (UTI) only was 0.86 (p=0.0001) for PCT and 0.70 (p=0.3607). For the cut-off value for PCT at 0.5 ng/mL, the sensitivity and specificity was 64% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.5–0.77) and 70% (95% CI 0.62–0.77) respectively in identifying children with bacterial infection. For the cut-off value for CRP at 20 mg/L, the sensitivity and specificity was 67% (95% CI 0.52–0.79) and 52% (95% CI 0.44–0.59) respectively in identifying children with bacterial infection. Conclusion In this study, PCT and CRP are nearly equivalent classifiers for detecting SBIs as a group and bacteremia, but PCT is statistically better for urinary tract infections; however, the clinical utility is unknown.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. e000416
Author(s):  
Chantal van Houten ◽  
Josephine Sophia van de Maat ◽  
Christiana Naaktgeboren ◽  
Louis Bont ◽  
R Oostenbrink

ObjectiveTo determine whether updating a diagnostic prediction model by adding a combination assay (tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand, interferon γ induced protein-10 and C reactive protein (CRP)) can accurately identify children with pneumonia or other serious bacterial infections (SBIs).DesignObservational double-blind diagnostic study.SettingTwo hospitals in Israel and four hospitals in the Netherlands.Patients591 children, aged 1–60 months, presenting with lower respiratory tract infections or fever without source. 96 of them had SBIs. The original Feverkidstool, a polytomous logistic regression model including clinical variables and CRP, was recalibrated and thereafter updated by using the assay.Main outcome measuresPneumonia, other SBIs or no SBI.ResultsThe recalibrated original Feverkidstool discriminated well between SBIs and viral infections, with a c-statistic for pneumonia of 0.84 (95% CI 0.77 to 0.92) and 0.82 (95% CI 0.77 to 0.86) for other SBIs. The discriminatory ability increased when CRP was replaced by the combination assay; c-statistic for pneumonia increased to 0.89 (95% CI 0.82 to 0.96) and for other SBIs to 0.91 (95% CI 0.87 to 0.94). This updated Feverkidstool improved diagnosis of SBIs mainly in children with low–moderate risk estimates of SBIs.ConclusionWe improved the diagnostic accuracy of the Feverkidstool by replacing CRP with a combination assay to predict pneumonia or other SBIs in febrile children. The updated Feverkidstool has the largest potential to rule out bacterial infections and thus to decrease unnecessary antibiotic prescription in children with low-to-moderate predicted risk of SBIs.


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