Etiologies of septic shock in a pediatric emergency department population.
Knowledge of pediatric sepsis etiologies is needed to optimize empiric therapy. A retrospective cross-sectional review of 428 children with clinically diagnosed sepsis found that 13% had lobar pneumonia, 12% bacteremia and 10% viral infections. No etiologies were found in 76%. Empiric antibiotic coverage of vancomycin/piperacillin-tazobactam/gentamicin for immunocompromised children and vancomycin/nafcillin/cefotaxime for previously healthy children would have covered all bacteremic children.
Sections of Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Nakia N
NN
Gaines
Binita
B
Patel
Eric A
EA
Williams
Andrea T
AT
Cruz
D000293:Adolescent; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012772:Shock, Septic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents