Frequency of serious bacterial infection among febrile sickle cell disease children in the era of the conjugate vaccine: A retrospective study.

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a wide prevalence disease worldwide. It has a spectrum of clinical manifestations. However, SCD patients are more susceptible to have a serious bacterial infection (SBI) as compared to other individuals. Objective: The main objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence rate of serious bacterial infection (SBI) in febrile children with sickle cell disease (SCD), whose vaccinations are up to date and are on regular penicillin prophylaxis, presented to the emergency department (ED) to assist in the management approach of such patients. Methods: A retrospective study included febrile SCD children under 12 years of age between 2014 and 2019 at King Saud Medical City (KSMC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Patients were stratified according to the true culture result of each febrile event. Descriptive statistics were used to report data from the patient's medical records. Results: From 833 febrile events, 40 events were assessed for eligibility with positive culture results. Of these, 10 were excluded due to contamination. The rest, 30 children with confirmed SBI (3.6%, 30/833) (95% CI = 2.4%-5.1%) were recruited. The highest prevalence rate of SBI was for urinary tract infection (UTI) (2.2%, 19/833) (95% CI = 1.4%-3.5%), followed by bacteremia (1.3%, 11/833) (95% CI = 0.7-2.4), osteomyelitis (0.24%, 2/833) (95% CI = 0.03-0.86) and meningitis (0.12%, 1/833) (95% CI = 0.00-0.67). Pneumococcal was the most common isolate among children with bacteremia (46%, 5/11) followed by Salmonella species (36%, 4/11). All the children fully recovered. Conclusion: As the prevalence of SBI, particularly bacteremia, continues to decline with a favorable outcome in our population, ambulatory management practices for well-presented febrile SCD children should be encouraged, for there are no further reasons for admission and the patient can return soon to their hospital if his condition worsens or there is growth in the blood culture. Further effort is needed to determine whether blood culture and empiric antibiotics are necessary for each febrile event in the probable highly active vaccination era.

Early oral switch to combined cefixime therapy for management of osteoarticular infections in pediatric sickle cell disease patients: A descriptive analysis.

BACKGROUND: The treatment of osteoarticular infections in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) is a challenging task for the practitioner. The aim of this study is to evaluate cefixime for the treatment of osteoarticular infections in pediatric SCD patients by retrospective design. METHODS: This study was done in the pediatric hospital of King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The data was obtained from medical records of patients aged 1-16 years admitted between January 2019 to December 2020, diagnosed with SCD and received cefixime for the treatment of OI. A descriptive study for pediatric patients admitted between January 2019 to December 2020 diagnosed with sickle cell disease and diagnosed with osteoarticular infection. All patients were treated with cefixime. Medians and interquartile ranges (IQRs) were used for the descriptive analysis. RESULTS: A total of 260 patients were screened, and 51 cases [osteomyelitis (OM), n = 43, and septic arthritis (SA), n = 8] met the inclusion criteria. The median age of OM patients was 7 years, with males making up 67.4% of the cohort. The median length of IV antibiotics and hospital stays were 10 days and 11 days, respectively. The median total duration of antibiotic use was 37 and 25 days for OM and SA, respectively. The treatment success rate was 88% in OM cases and 100% in SA patients. Readmission was noted in 39.5% of the OM patients, while only 25% of the SA patients were recorded for reinfection. CONCLUSION: The study's findings revealed that Cefixime is a viable oral alternative for treating osteoarticular infection in pediatric SCD patients. Nonetheless, a prospective investigation is required to corroborate the findings of this study.

High alanine aminotransaminase associated with daptomycin use in a premature infant.

Daptomycin is a cyclic lipopeptide antibiotic, a fermented product derived from Streptomyces roseosporus that is active against gram-positive bacteria. We report on a premature infant who developed hepatotoxicity as an adverse drug reaction after the administration of daptomycin 6 mg per kg per dose every 12 h. The patient had an unexpectedly sharp rise of alanine aminotransaminase, prothrombin time and international normalised ratio on the second day following daptomycin administration. This case illustrates a previously unrecognised adverse drug effect associated with daptomycin use in infants.

Use of Early-Onset Sepsis Risk Calculator for Neonates ≥ 34 Weeks in a Large Tertiary Neonatal Centre, Saudi Arabia.

Early-onset sepsis (EOS) refers to sepsis with onset before 72 hours of life. Kaiser Permanente Calculator (KPC) or EOS risk calculator is an advanced multivariate risk model for predicting EOS in infants. Objective To examine the EOS risk calculator effect for predicting neonatal EOS, the necessity for laboratory tests, antibiotic usage, and length of hospital stay among the term and late-preterm newborns. Method In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated 44 cases of neonates ≥34 weeks of gestation started on empiric antibiotics within 72 hours after birth due to suspected EOS at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The study site is a 1,500-bed teaching hospital, with around 4,500 annual deliveries, 70 beds in the level II and level III tertiary care NICU. We calculated the risk of the incidence of EOS as one per 1000 live births. Then we retrospectively calculated the probability of neonatal early-onset infection at birth based on the EOS risk calculator and assigned each neonate to one of the recommended categories of the calculator. The primary outcome was to evaluate the infection risk calculator's effect for predicting neonatal EOS and antibiotic usage among the term and late-preterm newborns ≥34 weeks of gestation. Results In our data, EOS calculator showed unnecessary antibiotic usage for 12 (27.3%) neonates [relative risk reduction (RRR) 27.2%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 20.3% - 35.7%)]. EOS risk calculator implementation may decrease in the number of NICU admission (RRR 20.4%; 95% CI 14.3% - 28%), laboratory tests (RRR 20.4%; 95% CI 14.3% - 28%), and length of stay (RRR 25%; 95% CI 38% - 95%). Conclusion EOS calculator could be considered a strategic and objective implementation for managing EOS that can limit unnecessary laboratory tests, reduce antibiotic usage, and length of stay related to EOS. Our findings ensure a multicenter, randomized study evaluating the safety and general use of the calculator for EOS sepsis in Saudi Arabia's clinical practice.

Safety and Efficacy of Daptomycin in Neonates with Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci: Case Series Analysis.

There has been an increase in the prevalence of gram-positive bacteremia in neonates in the last two decades. However, as a consequence of better care, there has been an increase in the survival of premature neonates. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) is the most prevalent bacteria, responsible for up to 60% of late-onset sepsis (LOS). Daptomycin, a lipopeptide antimicrobial agent, is active against CoNS. This was an observational, retrospective case series study carried out in the Pediatric Hospital of King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The medical records of 21 neonates, aged 0-28 days, who were treated in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with intravenous daptomycin as monotherapy or combination therapy for at least 4 days for proven gram-positive infection between June 2019 to July 2020, were included. The median gestational and chronological age were 27 weeks and 5 days, respectively. The most frequent diagnosis in neonates was infective endocarditis (42.9%). Of the 21 patients who received daptomycin therapy, 13 (62%) recovered and 8 died. The clinical cure rate was higher in Staphylococcus hominis (100%) and in patients who received 6 mg/kg/dose twice daily (62.5%). The mean of aspartate aminotransferase significantly elevated after starting daptomycin (p = 0.048). However, no muscular or neurological toxicity of daptomycin was documented in any of the cases. Overall, daptomycin was well tolerated, even with long-term treatment.

The consequences of prolonged duration of antibiotics in premature infants with suspected sepsis in a large tertiary referral hospital: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether there is any association between prolonged duration of the first course of empirical antibiotic treatment for suspected neonatal sepsis and other factors including comorbidities, interventions, and adverse outcomes. BACKGROUND: Neonatal sepsis is one of the main reasons of mortality among premature infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Therefore, commencing antibiotics treatment on admission plays a crucial role in reducing the complications of neonatal sepsis, however the arbitrary use of antibiotics holds many serious complications. In our study we investigated the complications of prolonged use of antibiotics in treating suspected early onset of sepsis. STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective cohort study of infants of gestational age 32 weeks or less and with birth weight of 1500 g or less along with suspected neonatal sepsis admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit from July 2015 to June 2017. The study outcome measures were the association between the antibiotic treatment duration and maternal factors, gender, adverse outcomes, developmental factors, comorbid conditions, early-onset sepsis, and late-onset sepsis. RESULTS: Of 295 premature infants, late-onset sepsis was associated with the duration of early empiric antibiotic use (n = 54/295), where 50 (92.6%) infants with LOS received the antibiotic treatment for more than 5 days (P < .001). Approximately 91.2% of those receiving the prolonged treatment had a positive blood culture result. Necrotizing enterocolitis was more prevalent in those with long duration of antibiotic treatment (95.1%). Among patients with the comorbid conditions patent ductus arteriosus (n = 123/295), intraventricular hemorrhage (n = 73/295), and periventricular leukomalacia (n = 25/295), 100 (81.3%), 60 (82.2%), and 21 (84%) of them, respectively, received prolonged treatment. CONCLUSION: Prolonged administration of empiric antibiotics to infants with very low birth weight along with sterile cultures is associated with the adverse outcomes late-onset sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis. However, no association with other adverse outcomes, namely, candidiasis or maternal factors, was found.

Chronic Disseminated Salmonellosis in a Patient With Interleukin-12p40 Deficiency.

Interleukin (IL)-12 is composed of p35 and p40 subunits; in this case, IL-12p40 deficiency is a rare genetic etiology of Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial disease. Salmonellosis has been reported in almost half of these patients and mostly present in recurrent extraintestinal form. In this report, we described an 18-month-old boy with absence of IL-12p40 production suffering from chronic disseminated nontyphoidal salmonellosis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first-reported case.

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine related lymphadenitis in children: Management guidelines endorsed by the Saudi Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (SPIDS).

The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine contains live attenuated Mycobacterium bovis; was first used in humans to prevent tuberculosis (TB) in 1921. The World Health Organization (WHO) established the Expanded Program on Immunization in 1974 to ensure that all children have access to routinely recommended vaccines including BCG. Each year 120 million doses of BCG vaccine are administered worldwide. Intradermal BCG vaccine gives rise to a classic primary complex that consists of a cutaneous nodule at the site of injection and subclinical involvement of the regional lymph nodes, which is self-limiting and requires no treatment. However, ipsilateral regional lymph node enlargement may follow BCG vaccine and is considered as the most common complication, some progress to suppuration. Rarely a disseminated BCG infection may develop in immunocompromised individuals resulting in a devastating outcome. Within the last decades, variable strategies have been applied in treating lymphadenitis related to BCG vaccine, ranging from observation, anti-mycobacterial therapy, aspiration, incision and drainage to lymph node surgical excision. We are presenting these guidelines that intended to optimize and standardize management of various types of BCG related lymph adenitis in children. They are based upon the best available evidence in literature beside our experience in this field.