Skip to main content

Advertising Disclaimer »

Main menu

  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers
  • Other Publications
    • American Academy of Pediatrics

User menu

  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
American Academy of Pediatrics

AAP Gateway

Advanced Search

AAP Logo

  • Log in
  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers

Discover Pediatric Collections on COVID-19 and Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health

American Academy of Pediatrics
Article

Follow-up Blood Cultures in Children With Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia

Caitlin Cardenas-Comfort, Sheldon L. Kaplan, Jesus G. Vallejo and J. Chase McNeil
Pediatrics December 2020, 146 (6) e20201821; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-1821
Caitlin Cardenas-Comfort
aSection of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Sheldon L. Kaplan
aSection of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; and
bDepartment of Pediatrics and
cTexas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jesus G. Vallejo
bDepartment of Pediatrics and
aSection of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; and
cTexas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
J. Chase McNeil
aSection of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; and
bDepartment of Pediatrics and
cTexas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments
Loading

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Download PDF

Abstract

Video Abstract

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is a common pathogen seen in pediatric bloodstream infections. Currently, no evidence-based recommendations are used to guide decisions on the number of follow-up blood cultures (FUBCs) needed to demonstrate infection clearance. Unnecessary cultures increase the risk of false-positives, add to health care costs, and create additional trauma to children and their families. In this study, we examined risk factors for persistent S aureus bacteremia (SAB) and intermittent positive blood cultures (positive cultures obtained after a documented negative FUBC result) to determine the number of FUBCs needed to demonstrate infection clearance in children.

METHODS: Patients ≤18 years who were hospitalized with SAB at Texas Children’s Hospital in 2018 were reviewed. We assessed the impact of an infectious disease diagnosis (central line–associated bloodstream infection, osteomyelitis, soft tissue infection, endocarditis, etc) and medical comorbidities on bacteremia duration. Patients with intermittent positive blood cultures were studied to determine the characteristics of this group and overall frequency of reversion to positive cultures.

RESULTS: A total of 122 subjects met the inclusion criteria. The median duration of bacteremia was 1 day (interquartile range: 1–2 days). Only 19 patients (16%) had bacteremia lasting ≥3 days, all of whom had a diagnosis of central line–associated bloodstream infection, osteomyelitis, or endocarditis. Intermittent positive cultures occurred in 5% of patients, with positive cultures after 2 negative FUBC results seen in <1% of patients. Intermittent positive cultures were strongly associated with osteomyelitis and endocarditis.

CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of our sample of children with SAB, additional blood cultures to document sterility are not necessary after 2 FUBC results are negative in well-appearing patients.

  • Accepted September 9, 2020.
  • Copyright © 2020 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

Individual Login

Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.

Institutional Login

via Institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your librarian or administrator if you do not have a username and password.

Log in through your institution

If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.

Pay Per Article - You may access this article (from the computer you are currently using) for 2 days for US$25.00

Regain Access - You can regain access to a recent Pay per Article purchase if your access period has not yet expired.

Offer Reprints

PreviousNext
Back to top

Advertising Disclaimer »

In this issue

Pediatrics
Vol. 146, Issue 6
1 Dec 2020
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
View this article with LENS
PreviousNext
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Academy of Pediatrics.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Follow-up Blood Cultures in Children With Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Academy of Pediatrics
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Academy of Pediatrics web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Request Permissions
Article Alerts
Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.
Or Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
Follow-up Blood Cultures in Children With Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia
Caitlin Cardenas-Comfort, Sheldon L. Kaplan, Jesus G. Vallejo, J. Chase McNeil
Pediatrics Dec 2020, 146 (6) e20201821; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2020-1821

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Follow-up Blood Cultures in Children With Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia
Caitlin Cardenas-Comfort, Sheldon L. Kaplan, Jesus G. Vallejo, J. Chase McNeil
Pediatrics Dec 2020, 146 (6) e20201821; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2020-1821
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Print
Download PDF
Insight Alerts
  • Table of Contents

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Conclusions
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments

Related Articles

  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Predictive Models of Neurodevelopmental Outcomes After Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy
  • A Technology-Assisted Language Intervention for Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: A Randomized Clinical Trial
  • Standard Versus Long Peripheral Catheters for Multiday IV Therapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

Subjects

  • Infectious Disease
    • Infectious Disease
  • Journal Info
  • Editorial Board
  • Editorial Policies
  • Overview
  • Licensing Information
  • Authors/Reviewers
  • Author Guidelines
  • Submit My Manuscript
  • Open Access
  • Reviewer Guidelines
  • Librarians
  • Institutional Subscriptions
  • Usage Stats
  • Support
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
  • Media Kit
  • About
  • International Access
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • FAQ
  • AAP.org
  • shopAAP
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Instagram
  • Visit American Academy of Pediatrics on Facebook
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Twitter
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Youtube
  • RSS
American Academy of Pediatrics

© 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics