Bacterial Infections News

Two AAP-recommended strategies can help physicians rule out invasive bacterial infections in febrile infants, which could reduce unnecessary lumbar punctures, but they were not as effective in younger infants, researchers found.

Cases of tularemia — a relatively rare zoonotic disease — increased by nearly 60% in the United States from 2011 to 2022 compared with the preceding decade, according to CDC researchers.

Gonorrhea is the second most common STI, with more than 82 million new infections globally each year, including 601,319 cases in the United States in 2023.

A healthy 5-year-old boy, whose only problem had been mild-to-moderate seborrheic dermatitis, is taken to his provider with the complaint of a sore on his left lower eyelid.

One in five febrile infants and toddlers with UTIs were missed by automated screening methods because they did not have pyuria, according to a study published in Pediatrics.

Nitrofurantoin and cranberry products may reduce recurrent UTI episodes in children when used as prophylaxis, according to the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis published in Pediatrics.

Each year, from Nov. 18 to Nov. 24, the CDC’s U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week raises awareness about antimicrobial resistance and encourages the appropriate use of antibiotics and antifungals.

The CDC posted an alert in October about an increase in Mycoplasma pneumoniae, or “walking pneumonia,” infections in the United States, especially among young children.

Most children who did not receive antibiotics for pneumonia did not experience treatment failure or severe outcomes, according to study findings published in JAMA Network Open.