Bacteremia in Febrile Infants in the U.S.

Approximately 2% of febrile infants have bacteremia and the most common causes in the U.S. are Group B Streptococcus (GBS), Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes. However, recent studies limited to a single geographic area have demonstrated declining rates of infections with GBS and the majority of infections in this age group attributable to E. coli. To examine more diverse trends, investigators retrospectively evaluated positive blood cultures from previously healthy febrile infants admitted to general pediatric units in six different geographic regions in the U.S. between 2006 and 2012.

Of 181 positive cultures, 19 different species were isolated from 177 patients. E. coli was the most commonly isolated pathogen (42%), followed by …