Browsing by Subject "Bacteremia"

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    Open Access
    Blood cultures in sick children
    (2013) Lochan, Harsha; Bamford, Colleen; Eley, Brian
    BACKGROUND: Blood cultures (BCs) are frequently performed in sick children. A recent audit of BCs among adult patients documented high rates of contamination by coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS). OBJECTIVES: To describe BC contamination rates and common pathogenic organisms causing bloodstream infection in children at a tertiary- level children's hospital. METHODS: BC results for children admitted to Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital from 2008 to 2012 were extracted from the National Health Laboratory Service database. Pathogenic and non-pathogenic (contaminated) growth on BCs in children <1 year of age and >1 year of age, were analysed. Data analysis was performed using Epi Info version 3.5.1. RESULTS: A total of 47 677 BCs were performed in the 5-year period. The proportion of contaminated specimens ranged between 5.9% and 7.2% per year (p=0.4). CoNS was the predominant isolate in 53.8% of all contaminated BCs. Children <1 year of age experienced higher contamination rates than children >1 year of age (8.7% v. 4.7%; relative risk 1.84; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.71 - 1.97). Pathogenic organisms were isolated in 6.2% (95% CI 6.0 - 6.4) of all BC specimens. Among Gram-positive organisms, the proportion of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates declined from 14.3% to 4.7% (p<0.00001), while there was a significant increase in Gram-negative organisms (51.8% - 57.9%; p=0.04) over the 5-year period. Klebsiella pneumoniae, the predominant Enterobacteriaceae isolated, decreased from 45.8% to 31.7% (p=0.004). CONCLUSION: This study identified unacceptably high BC contamination rates, emphasising the importance of collecting BC specimens under sterile conditions.
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    Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotypes and Mortality in Adults and Adolescents in South Africa: Analysis of National Surveillance Data, 2003 - 2008
    (Public Library of Science, 2015) Cohen, Cheryl; Naidoo, Nireshni; Meiring, Susan; de Gouveia, Linda; van Mollendorf, Claire; Walaza, Sibongile; Naicker, Preneshni; Madhi, Shabir A; Feldman, Charles; Klugman, Keith P; Dawood, Halima; von Gottberg, Anne; GERMS-SA
    BACKGROUND: An association between pneumococcal serotypes and mortality has been suggested. We aimed to investigate this among individuals aged ≥15 years with invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in South Africa. METHODS: IPD cases were identified through national laboratory-based surveillance at 25 sites, pre-pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) introduction, from 2003-2008. We assessed the association between the 20 commonest serotypes and in-hospital mortality using logistic regression with serotype 4 (the third commonest serotype with intermediate case-fatality ratio (CFR)) as referent. RESULTS: Among 3953 IPD cases, CFR was 55% (641/1166) for meningitis and 23% (576/2484) for bacteremia (p<0.001). Serotype 19F had the highest CFR (48%, 100/207), followed by serotype 23F (39%, 99/252) and serotype 1 (38%, 246/651). On multivariable analysis, factors independently associated with mortality included serotype 1 (OR 1.9, 95%CI 1.1-3.5) and 19F (OR 2.9, 95%CI 1.4-6.1) vs. serotype 4; increasing age (25-44 years, OR 1.8, 95%CI 1.0-3.0; 45-64 years, OR 3.6, 95%CI 2.0-6.4; ≥65 years, OR 5.2, 95%CI 1.9-14.1; vs. 15-24 years); meningitis (OR 4.1, 95%CI 3.0-5.6) vs. bacteremic pneumonia; and HIV infection (OR1.7, 95%CI 1.0-2.8). On stratified multivariate analysis, serotype 19F was associated with increased mortality amongst bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia cases, while no serotype was associated with increased mortality in meningitis cases. CONCLUSION: Mortality was increased in HIV-infected individuals, which may be reduced by increased antiretroviral therapy availability. Serotypes associated with increased mortality are included in the 10-and-13-valent PCV and may become less common in adults due to indirect effects following routine infant immunization.