Incidence of Bacteremia and Serious Bacterial Infections in Hyperpyrexic Infants Offered Universal Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine 13 and Haemophilus influenzae B Immunization

Moria Be'Er, Ayelet Rimon, Or Segev, Adi Huber, Dennis Scolnik, Miguel Glatstein*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background High fevers, especially in young children, often alarm clinicians and prompt extensive evaluation based on perceptions of increased risk of serious bacterial infection (SBI), and even brain damage or seizure disorders. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of SBI in infants aged 3-36 months with fever ≥40.5°C in a population of infants offered universal pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 13 and Haemophilus influenzae B immunization. Methods This study is a retrospective review of all infants aged 3-36 months with temperature ≥40.5°C presenting to a tertiary care pediatric emergency department over a 30-month period in an era of universal pneumococcal conjugate 13 and H. influenzae B immunization. Results SBI was recorded in 54 (21.8%) of 247 study infants, most commonly pneumonia 30 patients (12.1%) and urinary tract infection 16 patients (6.5%). Two patients had positive blood cultures, yielding a bacteremia rate of 0.8%. Patients with SBI had a significantly higher WBC count (P < 0.0001) and C-reactive protein levels (P < 0.0001), and were significantly more likely to be hospitalized (P < 0.0001). Discussion Although SBI was common (21.8%) in our cohort of hyperpyrexic infants universally offered vaccination with pneumococcal conjugate 13 and H. influenzae B vaccines, bacteremia was a rare finding (0.8%).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)e143-e146
JournalPediatric Emergency Care
Volume40
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2024

Keywords

  • bacterial infection
  • hyperpyrexia
  • immunization
  • infant

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Incidence of Bacteremia and Serious Bacterial Infections in Hyperpyrexic Infants Offered Universal Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine 13 and Haemophilus influenzae B Immunization'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this