Enterococcus has long been recognized as a pathogen in select populations and has become a common and particularly troublesome cause of hospital-acquired infection over the past 2 decades. Formerly classified with Streptococcus bovis and Streptococcus equinus as Lancefield group D…
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Group B streptococcus ( GBS ), or Streptococcus agalactiae, is a major cause of neonatal bacterial sepsis in the United States. Although advances in prevention strategies have led to a decline in the incidence of neonatal disease, GBS remains a…
Group A streptococcus ( GAS ), also known as Streptococcus pyogenes, is a common cause of infections of the upper respiratory tract (pharyngitis) and the skin (impetigo, pyoderma) in children. Less frequently, GAS causes perianal cellulitis, vaginitis, septicemia, pneumonia, endocarditis,…
Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is an important pathogen that kills more than 1 million children each year. Childhood pneumococcal disease is prevalent and typically severe, causes numerous clinical syndromes, and is a major cause of life-threatening pneumonia, bacteremia, and meningitis. Antimicrobial…
Staphylococci are hardy, aerobic, gram-positive bacteria that grow in pairs and clusters and are ubiquitous as normal flora of humans and present on fomites and in dust. They are resistant to heat and drying and may be recovered from nonbiologic…
Antibacterial therapy in infants and children presents many challenges. A daunting problem is the paucity of pediatric data regarding pharmacokinetics and optimal dosages; as a consequence, pediatric recommendations are frequently extrapolated from adult studies. A 2nd challenge is the need…
Use of implanted synthetic and prosthetic devices has revolutionized pediatric practice by providing long-term venous access, limb-salvage surgery, and successful treatment of hydrocephalus, urinary retention, and renal failure. However, infectious complications of these devices remain a major concern. These infections…
Infection and disease develop when the host immune system fails to protect adequately against potential pathogens. In individuals with an intact immune system, infection occurs in the setting of naïveté to the microbe and absence of or inadequate preexisting microbe-specific…
Fever of unknown origin ( FUO ) is a diagnostic dilemma for pediatricians because it is often difficult to distinguish clinically between benign and potentially life-threatening causes. Pediatricians face the important challenge of not missing the diagnosis of a serious…