Improving Prediction of Low Risk for Serious Bacterial Infection in Young Infants

A combination of urinalysis, absolute neutrophil count, and procalcitonin had high sensitivity and negative predictive value.

Determining which infants are likely to have a serious bacterial infection (SBI) has long been a challenge. The decision to perform a full evaluation, including lumbar puncture, and to institute empiric antibiotics rests on the assessment of SBI risk. As such, efforts are ongoing to improve the accuracy of this assessment in young infants with fever.

Researchers developed and validated an SBI clinical prediction rule using data from a previous prospective multicenter study in approximately 1800 infants aged ≤60 days presenting to emergency departments with fever. Patients were randomly assigned to derivation and validation cohorts (≈900 each).

The overall rate of SBI was 9.3%. The final prediction rule for low SBI risk included negative urina…

Reviewing Author

Deborah Lehman, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Deborah Lehman, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Improving Prediction of Low Risk for Serious Bacterial Infection in Young Infants

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Reviewing Author