Elise Launay

Suboptimal care in the initial management of children who died from severe bacterial infection: a population-based confidential inquiry.

Objectives: To study the frequency and types of suboptimal care and medical errors in children who died of severe bacterial infection as the first-stage procedure intended to improve quality of care. Design: Population-based confidential inquiry. Setting: Two adjoining administrative districts in France. Patients: Children older than 3 months dead from severe bacterial infection from 2000 through 2006. Interventions: The medical files were summarized on standardized forms and then evaluated independently by two experts, who determined whether the initial management before the patients’ arrival in intensive care was or was not optimal, in comparison with current guidelines. Measurements and Main Results: Of 23 deaths from severe bacterial infection, 21 could be analyzed; management was considered suboptimal in 76%. The coefficient of agreement between the experts was high, with a weighted &kgr; of 0.73. The types of errors identified included parental delay in seeking medical care (33%; 95% confidence interval, [12–54]), physicians’ delay in administering appropriate treatment (antibiotic therapy in the case of purpura; 38%; 95% confidence interval, 16–60), insufficient doses of or failure to repeat fluid resuscitation (24%; 95% confidence interval, [9 –35]), and overall underestimation of disease severity (38%; 95% confidence interval, [16–60]). Conclusion: This study found a high frequency of suboptimal care in the initial management of children who died of severe bacterial infection, with four separate types of errors. Other studies are needed to assess the potential avoidability of this type of death.

Quality of reporting of studies evaluating time to diagnosis: a systematic review in paediatrics

Objective An ever-increasing number of studies analyses the distribution, determinants and consequences of time to diagnosis and delays. Weaknesses in their reporting can impede the assessment of the risks of bias and variation and thus create a risk of invalid conclusions and counterproductive clinical and public health efforts. This study sought to assess systematically the quality of reporting of articles about time to diagnosis in paediatrics. Design Two authors identified and analysed the quality of reporting of 50 consecutive articles assessing these intervals published from 2005 through October 2011, according to a checklist we developed of 35 items potentially associated with risks of bias and variation. Main outcome measure Frequency of articles reporting each item. Results Symptoms that should trigger a diagnostic procedure were reported in 28% of the articles; only two articles reported whether all patients with these symptoms underwent that procedure. Only 44% of the articles defined the beginning of the illness, 46% the date of diagnosis and 60% the distribution of time to diagnosis. Two studies met the criteria for all 11 items considered essential for assessing the risks of bias and variation in this type of study. Interpretation This study identified many weaknesses in the quality of reporting of studies of time to diagnosis in paediatrics, especially for items potentially related to risks of bias and variation. This finding underlines the need for the development of new (or the refinement of existing) guidelines for reporting this type of study.

Contribution of procalcitonin to occult bacteraemia detection in children

We conducted a prospective study in 215 children, 3 to 36 months of age, presenting with fever ≥39°C without obvious origin, in order to evaluate the diagnostic value of procalcitonin (PCT) in detection of occult bacteraemia. PCT associated with white blood cell count constitutes an efficient screening method with sensitivity 100%, specificity 61.9% and positive and negative likelihoods ratios of 2.62 and 0, respectively

Why children with severe bacterial infection die: a population-based study of determinants and consequences of suboptimal care with a special emphasis on methodological issues.

Introduction Suboptimal care is frequent in the management of severe bacterial infection. We aimed to evaluate the consequences of suboptimal care in the early management of severe bacterial infection in children and study the determinants. Methods A previously reported population-based confidential enquiry included all children (3 months- 16 years) who died of severe bacterial infection in a French area during a 7-year period. Here, we compared the optimality of the management of these cases to that of pediatric patients who survived a severe bacterial infection during the same period for 6 types of care: seeking medical care by parents, evaluation of sepsis signs and detection of severe disease by a physician, timing and dosage of antibiotic therapy, and timing and dosage of saline bolus. Two independent experts blinded to outcome and final diagnosis evaluated the optimality of these care types. The effect of suboptimal care on survival was analyzed by a logistic regression adjusted on confounding factors identified by a causal diagram. Determinants of suboptimal care were analyzed by multivariate multilevel logistic regression. Results Suboptimal care was significantly more frequent during early management of the 21 children who died as compared with the 93 survivors: 24% vs 13% (p = 0.003). The most frequent suboptimal care types were delay to seek medical care (20%), under-evaluation of severity by the physician (20%) and delayed antibiotic therapy (24%). Young age (under 1 year) was independently associated with higher risk of suboptimal care, whereas being under the care of a paediatric emergency specialist or a mobile medical unit as compared with a general practitioner was associated with reduced risk. Conclusions Suboptimal care in the early management of severe bacterial infection had a global independent negative effect on survival. Suboptimal care may be avoided by better training of primary care physicians in the specifics of pediatric medicine.

Inappropriate prescription of antibiotics in pediatric practice: Analysis of the prescriptions in primary care

Misuse of antibiotics is largely responsible for the emergence of bacterial resistance. Children represent a subset of the population who frequently receive antibiotics. The objectives were to calculate the frequency of antibiotic prescriptions that do not comply with best practice recommendations in paediatrics primary care and to examine the thoughts and feelings of physicians and parents about antibiotic prescription and recommendations from the national health authorities. We included children admitted at the paediatric emergency room (PER) of the NANTES university hospital between June 2011 and October 2012 and who were under antibiotic drugs. Two independent experts evaluated the compliance with the national recommendations. Parents and general practitioner (GP) who prescribed the antibiotic before admission to PER were called to collect their thoughts and feeling about antibiotic prescription. The median age of the 88 included children was 2.8 years. The upper respiratory tract infection motivated the prescription of antibiotic in 59%. Seventy-six per cent of the prescriptions analysed were inappropriate, 72% of the antibiotics had a too broad spectrum, and one-third was not indicated. Ninety-one per cent of the interviewed parents thought that the antibiotic prescribed to their child was adequate. Among the 77 prescribing GP who were called, 33% agreed that they lacked time during consultation to explain to parents that no antibiotics were required. Antibiotic prescriptions were too often inadequate in this sample of children admitted in a French PER. Efforts have to be made with physicians and general public to optimize the antibiotic drug use.

Frequency and Characteristics of Infectious Diseases in Internationally Adopted Children: A Retrospective Study in Nantes From 2010 to 2012

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Internationally adopted children are more susceptible to developing and carrying acute or chronic infectious diseases. Specialized consultations exist in the main French cities; however, specialized consultation with a pediatrician is not mandatory. The main objective of this study was to determine the frequency and characteristics of infections (bacterial, viral, and parasitic) among a group of international adoptees in Nantes over a 3-year period. METHODS A retrospective chart review was conducted of internationally adopted children who went through the Medical Guidance for Adopted Children Consultation between 2010 and 2012. RESULTS A total of 133 children were included in the study. Of these, 55% had an infectious disease; 8% were severe infections. We found a frequency of 38% [confidence interval (CI) 95% 30-46] for parasitic intestinal and 35% (CI 95% 27-43) for dermatologic infections. African children were more likely to have infections that required hospitalization [odds ratio (OR) = 12, p = 0.004, CI 95% 1.3-113.7] and more likely to carry extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing bacteria. CONCLUSION The frequency of infectious diseases, and sometimes severe diseases, found among our cohort of internationally adopted children highlights the need for systematic, specialized medical care.

Efficacy of Ciprofloxacin in an Experimental Model of Escherichia coli Chorioamnionitis in Rabbits

ABSTRACT Pregnant rabbits were treated with ciprofloxacin alone or with gentamicin in a model of Escherichia coli chorioamnionitis, and the results were compared with those for untreated rabbits. The survival rate increased and the bacteremia decreased significantly in treated fetuses in comparison to controls (P = 0.003). Nevertheless, rapid selection of resistant mutants is a major limit to ciprofloxacin applications.

Impact of PCV13 on community-acquired pneumonia by C-reactive protein and procalcitonin levels in children

BACKGROUND Many countries have observed an early and strong impact of implementation of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) on community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). High levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) are considered biomarkers of bacterial infection (particularly infection due to pneumococcus); therefore, PCV13 implementation should have different effectiveness on CAP depending on the levels of these two biomarkers. To demonstrate this assumption, we analyzed the evolution of number of CAP cases seen in pediatric emergency departments in France after PCV13 implementation (in 2010) by levels of these two biomarkers. METHODS From June 2009 to May 2015, 8 pediatric emergency units prospectively enrolled all children (1month to 15years) with radiologically confirmed CAP. RESULTS A cohort of 9586 children with CAP was enrolled (median age 3years). CAP with pleural effusion (PE-CAP) and proven pneumococcal pneumonia (PP-CAP) accounted for 5.5% and 2.0% of cases. During the study period, the number of cases of overall CAP decreased by 25.4%, hospitalized CAP by 30.5%, PE-CAP by 63.4%, CAP with CRP level≥100mg/L by 50.9%, CAP with PCT level≥4ng/L by 60.4% and PP-CAP by 86.4%. We found no change in number of cases of CAP with low levels of CRP (<20 or <40mg/L) or PCT (<0.5ng/mL). The number of cases of CAP overall increased (20.0%) in the last year of the study as compared with the preceeding year but not cases with CRP level≥100mg/L and/or PCT level≥4ng/mL. CONCLUSION PCV13 implementation has had a strong impact on number of CAP cases with high levels of CRP and/or PCT in children but no impact on that with low levels of these two biomarkers. Five years after PCV13 implementation, a sustained reduction in CAP cases is observed.

Risk Factors in Children Older Than 5 Years With Pneumococcal Meningitis: Data From a National Network

Background: The occurrence of meningitis in children >5 years old may be associated with specific predisposing factors that can be anatomic, such as cerebrospinal fluid fistula or breach, or related to genetic susceptibility or N inborn or acquired immunologic defect. This study aimed to assess the anatomical and immunologic risk factors in children >5 years old with pneumococcal meningitis and prospectively enrolled in the French national meningitis network. Methods: We analyzed all data for children who were 5–15 years old with a diagnosis of pneumococcal meningitis between 2001 and 2013. We describe the frequency and typology of the anatomic or immunologic risk factors, the clinical features and the pneumococcal serotypes. Results: Among the 316 patients with pneumococcal meningitis, the mortality rate was 9.5% and 23.1% of cases presented complications (abscess, coma, hemodynamic failure, thrombophlebitis cerebral or deafness). In total, 108 children (34%) showed risk factors, the most frequent being anatomic: 70 cases (22.8%) were related to a cerebrospinal fluid breach or fistula and 55 (17.9%) to immunodeficiency, primary or acquired. Serotype data were available for 207 pneumococcal isolates (65.5%). The most frequent serotypes were as follows: 3, 18C, 19A and 19F between 2001 and 2009 and 19F, 3, 19A, 12F, 22F, 17F and 24F after 2009. Conclusions: We describe the largest cohort of children >5 years old with pneumococcal meningitis. One third of the children had risk factors justifying a complete immunologic and radiologic work-up.

Health-Related Quality of Life for Children and Adolescents with Specific Language Impairment: A Cohort Study by a Learning Disabilities Reference Center

Objectives To assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with specific language impairment (SLI). Study Design In a prospective sample at a Learning Disabilities Reference Center, proxy-rated HRQOL (KIDSCREEN-27) was assessed for children with SLI and unaffected children from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015. Quality of life predictors for children with SLI were evaluated by recording the length and number of speech therapy and psychotherapy sessions and the specific school organization that the children had participated in. The KIDSCREEN scores of the two groups were compared using nonparametric statistics. Results The questionnaires were completed by the parents of 67 children with SLI and 67 unaffected children. For children with SLI, the mean HRQOL scores were significantly lower for physical and psychological well-being, autonomy and parent relation, social support, and school environment compared to the reference group, controlling for age and parental education (β = -6.7 (-12.7;-.7) P = 0.03, β = -4.9 (-9.5;-.3) P = 0.04, β = -8.4 (-14.2;-2.6) P = 0.005, β = -11.6 (-19.5;-3.7) P = 0.004, β = -7.1(-12.4;-1.7) P = 0.010, respectively). Multivariate analyses in the group of children with SLI found that children who had undergone psychotherapy sessions or who had been enrolled in specific schooling programs had reduced HRQOL scores in social support and school environment and that children who were in a special class had higher scores in physical well-being. Conclusion Children with SLI had significantly lower HRQOL scores as compared to unaffected children. Measurement of HRQOL could serve as one of the strategies employed throughout the follow-up of these individuals to provide them with the most appropriate and comprehensive care possible.