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Title: Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteremia in Young Children Hospitalized With Pneumonia in Bangladesh Is Associated With a High Mortality Rate.

Authors: Chisti, Mohammod Jobayer; Harris, Jason B; Carroll, Ryan W; Shahunja, K M; Shahid, Abu S M S B; Moschovis, Peter P; Schenkel, Sara R; Hasibur Rahman, Abu Sayem Mirza Md; Shahrin, Lubaba; Faruk, Tanveer; Kabir, Farhad; Ahmed, Dilruba; Ahmed, Tahmeed

Published In Open Forum Infect Dis, (2021 Jul)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is a leading cause of sepsis and mortality in children under 5 years. However, our understanding of the causes of bacteremia in children with pneumonia is limited. METHODS: We characterized risk factors for bacteremia and death in a cohort of children admitted to the Dhaka Hospital of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) between 2014 and 2017 with radiographically confirmed pneumonia. RESULTS: A total of 4007 young children were hospitalized with pneumonia over the study period. A total of 1814 (45%) had blood cultures obtained. Of those, 108 (6%) were positive. Gram-negative pathogens predominated, accounting for 83 (77%) of positive cultures. These included Pseudomonas (N = 22), Escherichia coli (N = 17), Salmonella enterica (N = 14, including 11 Salmonella Typhi), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (N = 11). Gram-positive pathogens included Pneumococcus (N = 7) and Staphylococcus aureus (N = 6). Resistance to all routinely used empiric antibiotics (ampicillin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, and ceftriaxone) for children with pneumonia at the icddr,b was observed in 20 of the 108 isolates. Thirty-one of 108 (29%) children with bacteremia died, compared to 124 of 1706 (7%) who underwent culture without bacteremia (odds ratio [OR], 5.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.3-8.1; P < .001). Children infected with bacteria resistant to all routinely used empiric antibiotics were at greater risk of death compared to children without bacteremia (OR, 17.3; 95% CI, 7.0-43.1; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteremia in young children with pneumonia in Dhaka, Bangladesh was associated with a high mortality rate. The pandemic of antibiotic resistance is shortening the lives of young children in Bangladesh, and new approaches to prevent and treat these infections are desperately needed.

PubMed ID: 34277885 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: No MeSH terms associated with this publication

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