title: Repeated invasive pneumococcal infections in young children without apparent underlying immunodeficiency.
abstract: During a 30-month interval at LeBonheur Children's Medical Center, 394 patients had a blood or cerebrospinal fluid culture positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae. Sixteen of these episodes (4%) were repeated infections; 6 of these 16 patients had sickle cell disease. Six of the remaining 10 patients had immunologic evaluations of varying completeness; no immunodeficiency was identified by these tests or on follow-up. Nine of the ten previously healthy patients with repeated pneumococcal disease were less than 2 years of age. In our experience, repeated invasive pneumococcal infections in otherwise healthy young children were relatively common (10/394, or 2.5% of patients with invasive pneumococcal infections) and did not indicate the presence of an unsuspected immunodeficiency.
authors.affiliation: Crippled Children's Foundation Research Center, Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center, Memphis, TN 38103, USA.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Orlicek
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Herrod
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Leggiadro
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luedtke
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: English
mesh_terms: D016470:Bacteremia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010403:Penicillin Resistance; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012703:Serotyping; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013997:Time Factors