Clinical Characteristics, Etiology, and Outcomes of Hypothermia in Well-appearing Children Referred to the Emergency Department.
Isr Med Assoc J
; 26(3): 157-161, 2024 Mar.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38493326
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Hypothermia, as a sign of serious bacterial infection (SBI) in children and infants older than 90 days is poorly characterized, especially in the post-pneumococcal vaccine era.OBJECTIVES:
To assess the prevalence of SBI in children and infants presenting to the pediatric emergency department (PED) with reported or documented hypothermia.METHODS:
Retrospective data analysis was conducted of all well-appearing children aged 0-16 years who presented with a diagnosis of hypothermia at two tertiary PEDs from 2010 to 2019.RESULTS:
The study comprised 99 children, 15 (15.2%) age 0-3 months, 71 (71.7%) 3-36 months, and 13 (13.1%) > 36 months. The youngest age group had increased length of stay in the hospital (P < 0.001) and increased rates of pediatric intensive care unit admissions (P < 0.001). Empirical antibiotic coverage was initiated in 80% of the children in the 0-3 months group, 21.1% in the 3-36 months group, and 15.4% in > 36 months (P < 0.001). Only one case of SBI was recorded and no bacteremia or meningitis. Hypothermia of unknown origin was the most common diagnosis in all age groups (34%, 42%, 46%), respectively, followed by bronchiolitis (26%) and hypoglycemia (13.3%) for 0-3 month-old children, unspecified viral infection (20%) and otitis media (7%) for 3-36-month old, and unspecified viral infection (23%) and alcohol intoxication (15.2%) in > 36 months.CONCLUSIONS:
There is a low incidence of SBI in well-appearing children presenting to the PED with hypothermia and a benign course and outcome in those older than 3 months.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bacterial Infections
/
Urinary Tract Infections
/
Virus Diseases
/
Hypothermia
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Newborn
Language:
En
Journal:
Isr Med Assoc J
Journal subject:
MEDICINA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Israel