title: Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium colonization in children.
abstract: Nosocomial vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) infections have been described in only small numbers of pediatric patients. In none of these studies were multivariate analyses performed to assess which factors were independent risk factors in these patients. In the present cohort study of patients admitted to our hematology/oncology unit, surveillance cultures revealed a colonization rate of 24% and all isolates were identified as Enterococcus faecium. Risk factors associated with colonization with VRE identified by multiple logistic regression analysis included young age and chemotherapy with antineoplastic agents, cefotaxime, vancomycin, and ceftazidime. A molecular epidemiological tool, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, was used to determine the relatedness of the VRE isolates detected. DNA analysis by this method identified two major clusters of VRE isolates. Young children with gastrointestinal colonization with VRE, without evidence of clinical infection, can serve as a reservoir for the spread of VRE.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Infectious Diseases, Children's National Medical Center, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C. 20010, USA. nsingh@cnmc.org
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Singh-Naz
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sleemi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pikis
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Campos
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D016984:Enterococcus faecium / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D006405:Hematology; D006757:Hospital Units; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008495:Medical Oncology; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D014640:Vancomycin