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BACKGROUND: Bacteremia is now an uncommon presentation to the children's emergency department (ED) but is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Its evolving etiology may affect the ability of clinicians to initiate timely, appropriate antimicrobial therapy. METHODS: A retrospective time series analysis of bacteremia was conducted in the Alder Hey Children's Hospital ED between 2001 and 2011. Data on significant comorbidities, time to empirical therapy, and antibiotic susceptibility were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 575 clinical episodes were identified, and Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 109), Neisseria meningitidis (n = 96), and Staphylococcus aureus (n = 89) were commonly isolated. The rate of bacteremia was 1.42 per 1000 ED attendances (95% confidence interval: 1.31-1.53). There was an annual reduction of 10.6% (6.6%-14.5%) in vaccine-preventable infections, and an annual increase of 6.7% (1.2%-12.5%) in Gram-negative infections. The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was associated with a 49% (32%-74%) reduction in pneumococcal bacteremia. The rate of health care-associated bacteremia increased from 0.17 to 0.43 per 1000 ED attendances (P = .002). Susceptibility to empirical antibiotics was reduced (96.3%-82.6%; P < .001). Health care-associated bacteremia was associated with an increased length of stay of 3.9 days (95% confidence interval: 2.3-5.8). Median time to antibiotics was 184 minutes (interquartile range: 63-331) and 57 (interquartile range: 27-97) minutes longer in Gram-negative bacteremia than in vaccine-preventable bacteremia. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in the etiology of pediatric bacteremia have implications for prompt, appropriate empirical treatment. Increasingly, pediatric bacteremia in the ED is health care associated, which increases length of inpatient stay. Prompt, effective antimicrobial administration requires new tools to improve recognition, in addition to continued etiological surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: Enterobacterales bloodstream infections (E-BSI) cause a significant burden of disease in children and are associated with antimicrobial resistance. We assessed temporal changes in the population-based incidence of E-BSI in children in Queensland, Australia. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study of incidents of E-BSI occurring in children in Queensland between 2000 and 2019, with a total population of 19.7 million child years. Infections were linked to clinical outcomes in hospital admissions and vital statistics databases. We estimated age- and sex-standardized E-BSI incidence rates over time. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of extended-spectrum b-lactamase phenotypes per year, hospital length of stay, and mortality. RESULTS: We identified 1980 E-BSI in 1795 children. The overall age- and sex-standardized incidence rate was 9.9 cases per 100 000 child years, which increased from 7.3 to 12.9 over the period studied, an increase of 3.9% (95% confidence interval: 3.1-4.7) per year. There were 3.6 cases of E. coli bloodstream infection per 100 000 child years, increasing annually by 4.7% (3.5-5.9). The Salmonella sp. bloodstream infection incidence was 3.0 cases per 100 000 child years, which increased from 2013 by 13.7% (3.8-24.3) per year. The proportion of extendedspectrum β-lactamase E. coli increased over time. Mortality and length of stay were higher among children with comorbidities than those without (4.0% vs 0.3%, and 14 vs 4 days, respectively, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The age- and sex-standardized incidence of E-BSI almost doubled in Queensland children over 2 decades, driven by increases in Salmonella sp. and E. coli. Increasing resistance of E. coli should prompt the inclusion of children in antimicrobial clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These are commentaries on a Cochrane review, published in this issue of EBCH, first published as: Schuetz P, Müller B, Christ-Crain M, Stolz D, Tamm M, Bouadma L, Luyt CE, Wolff M, Chastre J, Tubach F, Kristoffersen KB, Burkhardt O, Welte T, Schroeder S, Nobre V, Wei L, Bhatnagar N, Bucher HC, Briel M. Procalcitonin to initiate or discontinue antibiotics in acute respiratory tract infections. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD007498. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007498.pub2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]