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SBIs uncommon among full-term infants

Full-term birth infants have a low incidence of serious bacterial infections, according to recent study findings presented at ID Week 2013.

Researchers evaluated febrile, full-term, previously healthy infants born between 2008 and 2011 aged 1 week to 3 months. More than 100,000 infants were born during the study period. After exclusion for underlying medical conditions, 2,089 infants had a fever of more than 100.4oF in a clinician’s office, ED or first 24 hours of hospitalization.

Researchers found that among infants with fever, 30.4% had no bacterial cultures obtained and 14.4% had a serious bacterial infection (SBI). Among 395 infants with fever at home or a medical setting, there were 441 SBIs, for a rate of 3.1 per 1,000 full-term births. The SBIs included: bacteremia (69); bacterial meningitis (9); bacterial gastroenteritis (8); and urinary tract infections (355).

“Febrile SBIs are uncommon with an incident rate of 3.1/1,000 full-term births,” researchers wrote. “Thirty percent of infants febrile in a medical setting do not have any cultures obtained and they have a benign clinical course. Of those with cultures obtained, infections with more than one source are common and are often associated with a UTI.”

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Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.