Infection with gram-negative bacteria among children in a tertiary pediatric hospital in Egypt

Background: Patients in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) are susceptible to infections with gram negative bacteria (GNB). Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in 2 PICUs at Cairo University Hospitals to determine the incidence and outcome of GNB infections over 1 year. Variables of interest included age, gender, isolated organism, susceptibility to antibiotics, and final outcome. Results: During the study period, 1420 patients were admitted to the PICU; of these, 291 developed GNB infections. The median age of the studied GNB patients was 50 months (interquartile range [IQR], 22-80 months). The mortality rate was 37.1%. Organisms were isolated from blood in the majority (86.6%) of patients, with Klebsiella (36.0%) being the most frequently isolated organism. Among patients with GNB infection, 235 patients, one had a multidrug-resistant (MDR) infection. The length of hospital stay was statistically significantly longer in the MDR group (25 days; IQR, 20-30) than in the non-MDR group (15 days; IQR, 10-20) (P<.01). Mortality was similar in both groups (37.4% vs 35.7% in the MDR and non MDR groups, respectively; P=.88). Conclusion: This study highlights high rates of pediatric MDR-GNB infections and emphasizes the need for a continuous surveillance system in the management of these critically ill children. (C) 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.