Research out of Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center suggests children are becoming infected with the superbug carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae much more frequently than in the recent past.
Highlighted below are five things to know about the study and the prevalence of CRE among children.
1. Until now, there have been no nationwide studies assessing the prevalence and epidemiology of CRE in American children, according to Latania Logan, MD, the lead author of the study.
2. To assess the presence of CRE bacteria, researchers examined 316,253 cultures obtained from children in the U.S. from 1999 to 2012 from a nationwide database of reports from 300 microbiology laboratories.
3. The study revealed CRE in children is still fairly rare, but the rate of infection has increased significantly among children of all ages and settings, from zero percent in 1999 to 2000, to 0.47 percent in 2011 to 2012.
4. The greatest increase in prevalence was found in cultures from children between ages 1 through 5 cared for in intensive care units, with an increase from zero to 4.5 percent.
5. CRE isolates found in the bloodstream increased from zero to 3.2 percent during the study period, which is important because up to half of those who develop CRE bloodstream infection die from it.
"It is important to help understand the epidemiology of these organisms and to prevent spread of CRE by alerting hospitals of individuals who previously have been found to carry these germs, which allows the facility receiving the patient to place the individual under appropriate isolation precautions," said Dr. Logan. "Novel initiatives such as this as well as antimicrobial stewardship efforts will be critical in reducing spread of these dangerous bacteria."
More articles on CRE:
CDC: Infections from new superbug strain CRE on the rise
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Endoscopes and MDROs: How to avoid an outbreak