Chryseobacterium indologenes bacteremia in children with comorbidities.

INTRODUCTION: We describe a series of pediatric cases of bacteremia, all of them with a history of heart disease, use of central venous catheter and coinfections. A review of the published literature was carried out in order to enrich the available information. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Pediatric observational retrospective study in which three cases of catheter-related bloodstream infection due to Chryseobacterium indologenes were reported in a period of two years in a tertiary care hospital. The analysis was performed with the cases previously reported in the literature. RESULTS: Three cases were reported in our center in a period of two years. We found 26 cases reported in the literature. Overall mortality was 26.92% (7/26). CONCLUSIONS: This microorganism with characteristics of multidrug resistance is associated with the use of medical devices in hospitalized patients. Early identification of this pathogen is crucial to starting treatment.

Pediatric Phaeohyphomycosis: A 44-Year Systematic Review of Reported Cases.

BACKGROUND: Phaeohyphomycosis is an infection caused by pigmented fungi, which can be life-threatening in immunocompromised hosts and in disseminated disease. In adults with disseminated disease, mortality is as high as 79%. Data in children are derived from case reports and series. We conducted this study to review the characteristics of phaeohyphomycoses in children. METHODS: We conducted this study following the PRISMA 2020 guideline for reporting systematic reviews. We performed a review of the reported cases of pediatric phaeohyphomycoses in core bibliographic databases published in the English and Spanish language, between June 1977 and October 2021. We included all eligible cases in patients <18 years to determine the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 130 cases were reviewed. The mean age was 8 years. The most common underlying conditions and risk factors included hematologic malignancies (32.5%), neutropenia (26.9%), steroid therapy (24.6%), trauma or surgery (23.1%), and children that received a transplant (14.6%). The most common presentation was localized infection (61.5%); skin and soft tissue infections were the most prevalent (25.4%). Exserohilum spp (20.8%) and Exophiala spp (17.7%) were the most common organisms isolated. Antifungal therapy remains as the most frequent treatment (87%). Overall mortality rate was 22.3% (localized 13.7% vs disseminated 37.3%). CONCLUSION: The findings of this review suggest that phaeohyphomycoses in children have a better outcome compared to adults. We report a lower mortality rate in children when compared with adults in disseminated infection (37.3% vs 79%) and CNS infection (50% vs 60-70%). However, there is a wide variation in mortality rates according to the infection site, treatment, and underlying conditions. Prospective studies are needed.

Case Report: Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitis due to Acanthamoeba spp. in an Immunocompetent Pediatric Patient.

Granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE) caused by Acanthamoeba is a rare infection with central nervous system (CNS) involvement usually with fatal consequences. Currently, information regarding GAE in children is scarce and is limited only to case reports and case series. A 13-year-old immunocompetent male patient with a 6-month history of progressive and intermittent headaches presented to our institution. One week before hospital admission, the patient showed signs of CNS involvement. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed multiple lesions with supra- and infratentorial cerebral abscesses. An empiric treatment with combined antibiotics was given, but the patient died after 20 days of hospital stay. A postmortem diagnosis confirmed GAE. Although it is a rare disease in pediatric patients, GAE should be considered in children with a chronic history of fever, headache, and vomiting with CNS involvement.

Can two different pneumococcal conjugate vaccines be used to complete the infant vaccination series? A randomized trial exploring interchangeability of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and the pneumococcal non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D-conjugate vaccine.

Background: We assessed the safety and immunogenicity of 2 + 1 infant regimens initiated with the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) and completed with the pneumococcal non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D-conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV). Methods: This partially blinded study randomized 6-12-week-old infants to receive two-dose priming and a booster (at ages 2, 4, 12-15 months) with: PCV13 at priming and PHiD-CV at boosting (PPS); PCV13 then PHiD-CV at priming and PHiD-CV at boosting (PSS); or PHiD-CV at priming and boosting (SSS control). All analyses were descriptive, i.e., no statistical significance tests were done. Results: The total vaccinated cohort at priming comprised 294 infants. Grade 3 adverse events were reported after 8.7% (PPS), 11.4% (PSS), and 16.9% (SSS) of primary doses (primary objective). No serious adverse events were considered vaccination-related. For most PHiD-CV serotypes, observed percentages of children reaching antibody concentrations ≥0.2 µg/mL and opsonophagocytic activity (OPA) titers above cutoffs were similar across groups 1 month post-priming and post-booster. Observed geometric mean antibody concentrations and OPA titers were lower for some PHiD-CV serotypes with the mixed regimens than with PHiD-CV only, especially for PSS. However, no tests of statistical significance were performed. Conclusions: Immunogenicity of the two mixed PCV13/PHiD-CV regimens seemed mostly similar to that of a PHiD-CV-only series, although observed antibody GMCs and OPA GMTs for some PHiD-CV serotypes were lower. No safety concerns were raised. The clinical relevance of the observed differences is unknown. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01641133.

Focus on the patientWhat is the context? Infant immunization programs worldwide include the pneumococcal conjugate vaccines Synflorix and Prevnar 13 to help combat pneumococcal diseases. Countries or regions choose whether to use Synflorix or Prevnar 13 and may decide to switch from one vaccine to the other. This can result in infants receiving a mixed vaccination regimen. Limited information is available about such mixed regimens. What is new? We assessed the immunogenicity of three infant vaccination regimens: 1) priming with two doses of Prevnar 13 and boosting with Synflorix; 2) priming with one dose of Prevnar 13 followed by one dose of Synflorix and boosting with Synflorix; 3) priming and boosting with Synflorix. The study showed that: Switching from Prevnar 13 to Synflorix at any time during the vaccination regimen did not seem to affect safety. When switching from Prevnar 13 to Synflorix at the time of boosting, immunogenicity was mostly similar to that of the Synflorix- only regimen. Switching vaccines during priming resulted in a trend toward lower immune responses for some vaccine components. What is the impact? This piece of evidence can be considered by doctors and health authorities when evaluating the possibility of switching pneumococcal vaccines in an immunization program or individual immunization regimen. Further effectiveness studies from countries or regions switching from Prevnar 13 to Synflorix (or vice versa) may shed more light on the feasibility of switching between these vaccines.

Relative efficacy of AS03-adjuvanted pandemic influenza A(H1N1) vaccine in children: results of a controlled, randomized efficacy trial.

BACKGROUND: The vaccine efficacy (VE) of 1 or 2 doses of AS03-adjuvanted influenza A(H1N1) vaccine relative to that of 2 doses of nonadjuvanted influenza A(H1N1) vaccine in children 6 months to <10 years of age in a multinational study conducted during 2010-2011. METHODS: A total of 6145 children were randomly assigned at a ratio of 1:1:1 to receive 2 injections 21 days apart of A/California/7/2009(H1N1)-AS03 vaccine at dose 1 and saline placebo at dose 2, 2 doses 21 days apart of A/California/7/2009(H1N1)-AS03 vaccine (the Ad2 group), or 2 doses 21 days apart of nonadjuvanted A/California/7/2009(H1N1) vaccine (the NAd2 group). Active surveillance for influenza-like illnesses continued from days 14 to 385. Nose and throat samples obtained during influenza-like illnesses were tested for A/California/7/2009(H1N1), using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Immunogenicity, reactogenicity, and safety were assessed. RESULTS: There were 23 cases of confirmed 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) (A[H1N1]pdm09) infection for the primary relative VE analysis. The VE in the Ad2 group relative to that in the NAd2 group was 76.8% (95% confidence interval, 18.5%-93.4%). The benefit of the AS03 adjuvant was demonstrated in terms of the greater immunogenicity observed in the Ad2 group, compared with the NAd2 group. CONCLUSION: The 4-8-fold antigen-sparing adjuvanted pandemic influenza vaccine demonstrated superior and clinically important prevention of A(H1N1)pdm09 infection, compared with nonadjuvanted vaccine, with no observed increase in medically attended or serious adverse events. These data support the use of adjuvanted influenza vaccines during influenza pandemics. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT01051661.