Prevalence of urinary tract infection, bacteremia, and meningitis among febrile infants aged 8 to 60 days with SARS-CoV-2

Authors

Paul L. Aronson, Section of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Departments of Pediatrics and of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Jeffrey P. Louie, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Minnesota, Masonic Children's Hospital, Minneapolis.
Ellen Kerns, Division of Child Health Policy, Department of Pediatrics, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha.
Brittany Jennings, American Academy of Pediatrics, Itasca, Illinois.
Sloane Magee, American Academy of Pediatrics, Itasca, Illinois.
Marie E. Wang, Division of Hospital Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, Palo Alto, California.
Nisha Gupta, Division of Hospital Medicine, Inova Children's Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia.
Christopher Kovaleski, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Inova Children's Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia.
Lauren M. McDaniel, Division of Hospital Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Children's Center, Baltimore, Maryland.
Corrie E. McDaniel, Division of Hospital Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle.

Recommended Citation

Aronson PL, Louie JP, Kerns E, et al. Prevalence of Urinary Tract Infection, Bacteremia, and Meningitis Among Febrile Infants Aged 8 to 60 Days With SARS-CoV-2. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(5):e2313354. Published 2023 May 1. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.13354

Abstract

Importance:The prevalence of urinary tract infection (UTI), bacteremia, and bacterial meningitis in febrile infants with SARS-CoV-2 is largely unknown. Knowledge of the prevalence of these bacterial infections among febrile infants with SARS-CoV-2 can inform clinical decision-making.

Objective:To describe the prevalence of UTI, bacteremia, and bacterial meningitis among febrile infants aged 8 to 60 days with SARS-CoV-2 vs without SARS-CoV-2.

Design, setting, and participants:This multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted as part of a quality improvement initiative at 106 hospitals in the US and Canada. Participants included full-term, previously healthy, well-appearing infants aged 8 to 60 days without bronchiolitis and with a temperature of at least 38 °C who underwent SARS-CoV-2 testing in the emergency department or hospital between November 1, 2020, and October 31, 2022. Statistical analysis was performed from September 2022 to March 2023.

Exposures:SARS-CoV-2 positivity and, for SARS-CoV-2-positive infants, the presence of normal vs abnormal inflammatory marker (IM) levels.

Main outcomes and measures:Outcomes were ascertained by medical record review and included the prevalence of UTI, bacteremia without meningitis, and bacterial meningitis. The proportion of infants who were SARS-CoV-2 positive vs negative was calculated for each infection type, and stratified by age group and normal vs abnormal IMs.

Results:Among 14 402 febrile infants with SARS-CoV-2 testing, 8413 (58.4%) were aged 29 to 60 days; 8143 (56.5%) were male; and 3753 (26.1%) tested positive. Compared with infants who tested negative, a lower proportion of infants who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 had UTI (0.8% [95% CI, 0.5%-1.1%]) vs 7.6% [95% CI, 7.1%-8.1%]), bacteremia without meningitis (0.2% [95% CI, 0.1%-0.3%] vs 2.1% [95% CI, 1.8%-2.4%]), and bacterial meningitis (<0.1% [95% CI, 0%-0.2%] vs 0.5% [95% CI, 0.4%-0.6%]). Among infants aged 29 to 60 days who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, 0.4% (95% CI, 0.2%-0.7%) had UTI, less than 0.1% (95% CI, 0%-0.2%) had bacteremia, and less than 0.1% (95% CI, 0%-0.1%) had meningitis. Among SARS-CoV-2-positive infants, a lower proportion of those with normal IMs had bacteremia and/or bacterial meningitis compared with those with abnormal IMs (<0.1% [0%-0.2%] vs 1.8% [0.6%-3.1%]).

Conclusions and relevance:The prevalence of UTI, bacteremia, and bacterial meningitis was lower for febrile infants who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, particularly infants aged 29 to 60 days and those with normal IMs. These findings may help inform management of certain febrile infants who test positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Type

Article

PubMed ID

37171815