Demographic and Clinical Profile of Invasive Staphylococcal Infections in Children Admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective Study

OBJECTIVE: Staphylococcal infections are common cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The objective of this study was to describe the clinical and microbial features, and outcome of patients with invasive staphylococcal infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of the children admitted to PICU with invasive staphylococcal infections. Invasive staphylococcal infection was defined as clinical infection with isolation of Staphylococcus aureus from a normally sterile body site. RESULTS: A total of 50 children (1 month to 16 years) were identified with staphylococcal infections during the study period. There was male preponderance (75%) with high prevalence in school going children. Among these children, 36% (18) were coagulase-negative (CONS), which were excluded. Of the remaining, 64% (32) were coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus, 54% (27) were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and 10% (5) were methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Community-acquired staphylococcal infections were present in 24 children (CA-MRSA). Pneumonia with empyema was the most common 20 (62%) site of primary staphylococcal infection, followed by blood stream infection 9 (28%) and skin and soft tissue infection 3 (9%). Of the soft tissue infection, three were MRSA, with two had pyopericardium with infective endocarditis. Resistance in MSSA was found to be maximum to penicillin, erythromycin, and ciprofloxacin with no resistance with vancomycin. CONCLUSION: There is an increase incidence of MRSA among community-acquired staphylococcal infections requiring intensive care management. A larger study on clinical profile of Staphylococcus infection in pediatrics is urgently needed to define the exact magnitude of the problem. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Lalitha AV, Rebello G, Chettri S, Reddy M. Demographic and Clinical Profile of Invasive Staphylococcal Infections in Children Admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective Study. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(9):890–891.