Clinical, laboratory features and prognosis of children receiving IgM-enriched immunoglobulin (3 days vs. 5 days) as adjuvant treatment for serious infectious disease in pediatric intensive care unit: a retrospective single-center experience (PIGMENT study)

Introduction Although there are studies about sepsis treatment in different age groups, data on immunoglobulin-M (IgM)-enriched intravenous immunoglobulin use in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical features and prognoses of children receiving IgM-enriched intravenous immunoglobulin to treat sepsis, septic shock, and multi-organ failure. Method We extracted data from the medical records of 254 children who received IgM-enriched intravenous immunoglobulin infusion (104 children for 3 days, 150 children for 5 days) in addition to standard treatment between 2010 and 2017. Results When the 5-day vs. 3-day IgM-enriched immunoglobulin treatments were compared, the mortality rate was shown to be lower in patients who received the longer duration of treatment (p < .001). Better outcomes were observed among children with septic shock (p < .01). Conclusion Our clinical work with 5-days IgM-enriched intravenous immunoglobulin may reveal a survival benefit of this treatment for children with septic shock

Meningitis Due to Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotype 24B in a Patient with Cochlear Implant Previously Vaccinated with the Pneumococcal Vaccine

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of bacterial meningitis in children. It can progress and carries a serious risk of mortality and morbidity despite effective treatment. Cochlear implantation is a fairly successful procedure for restoring hearing in cases of sensorineural hearing loss. Moreover, patients with cochlear implants are at increased risk of contracting pneumococcal meningitis compared to the general population. The development of meningitis is associated with pathogens in the middle ear that contaminate the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), as a result of congenital anomalies in the cochlea, and the cochlear implant. A 4-year-old girl presented to our clinic with fever, vomiting, and weakness. A physical examination showed an axillary temperature of 38.3 degrees C, heart rate of 134/min, respiration rate of 50 breaths/minute, and arterial blood pressure of 120/88 mmHg. The patient also had a neck stiffness and her Kernig and Brudzinski signs were positive. It was discovered that the patient had undergone cochlear implantation approximately five months prior due to bilateral congenital sensorineural hearing loss. She had also received the Haemophilus influenzae type b and PCV-13 vaccines in line with the national immunization calendar. Her laboratory findings showed a leukocyte count of 21.900/mm(3) (neutrophils 90% and lymphocytes 10%) and her procalcitonin level was 1.22 ng/ml. An uncountable number of neutrophils was identified in her cerebrospinal fluid, which led to the initial diagnosis of meningitis. There was also 1 mg/dl of glucose (blood glucose, 102 mg/dl) and 706 mg/dl of protein in her cerebrospinal fluid. Empirically, vancomycin (60 mg/kg/day) and ceftriaxone (100 mg/kg/day) were started. Following 5 days of antibiotic treatment, penicillin-susceptible S.pneumoniae was yielded in her CSF culture and identified as serotype 24B. S.pneumoniae with the same antibiotic sensitivity was also identified in her blood culture. Since rhinorrhea was observed on day 16 of hospitalization, she underwent an operation to repair the fistula tract. A computerized tomography cranial scan was performed after the development of acute mental fog at postoperative day 3 and showed brain edema and a thrombus in the right middle cerebral artery. The patient died on day 42 of hospitalization due to multiple organ failure. To our knowledge, this is the first case of meningitis reported in our country associated with S.pneumoniae serotype 24B in a patient with a cochlear implant. While there has been a decrease in the prevalence of invasive pneumococcal disease with routine administration of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, a relative increase has been observed in its non-vaccine serotypes. This is relevant not only to patients with more risk factors, such as a cochlear implant, but also those who are at lower risk for pneumococcal infection

Nasopharyngeal Meningococcal Carriage among Children and Adolescents in Turkey in 2018: An Unexpected High Serogroup X Carriage

Meningococcal carriage studies and transmission modeling can predict IMD epidemiology and used to define invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) control strategies. In this multicenter study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of nasopharyngeal Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) carriage, serogroup distribution, and related risk factors in Turkey. Nasopharyngeal samples were collected from a total of 1267 children and adolescents and were tested with rt-PCR. Nm carriage was detected in 96 participants (7.5%, 95% CI 6.1-9.0), with the peak age at 13 years (12.5%). Regarding age groups, Nm carriage rate was 7% in the 0-5 age group, was 6.9%in the 6-10 age group, was 7.9% in the 11-14 age group, and was 9.3% in the 15-18 age group. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups (p > 0.05). The serogroup distribution was as follows: 25% MenX, 9.4% MenA, 9.4% MenB, 2.1% MenC, 3.1% MenW, 2.1% for MenY, and 48.9% for non-groupable. The Nm carriage rate was higher in children with previous upper respiratory tract infections and with a high number of household members, whereas it was lower in children with antibiotic use in the last month (p Eskisehir Osmangazi University Research Grant [201811027]This study has been supported by Eskisehir Osmangazi University Research Grant (201811027)

The attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge of healthcare professionals towards the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of bacterial meningitis in Turkey

###EgeUn###Introduction: Bacterial meningitis is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children and adults. Better understanding of the seroepidemiology of meningitis is critical for both the selection and implementation of an effective meningitis vaccine for the national immunization program. Because physicians play a crucial role in the implementation of this vaccine, the aim of this study was to evaluate the attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge of healthcare professionals in Turkey regarding the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of bacterial meningitis, especially pneumococcal and meningococcal meningitis. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional electronic survey with a national convenience sample of 339 physicians (171 pediatric age specialists [PAS] and 168 adult patient specialists [APS]) in Turkey. A web-based questionnaire which consisted 28 questions about the definition, diagnosis, and treatment of bacterial as well as knowledge and/or attitudes about meningococcal vaccines, was designed. Results: Approximately 72.9% (n = 247) of the respondents followed a patient with meningitis in the last year. A 49.5% of participants preferred to perform computerized cranial tomography (CCT) for suspected meningitis cases before lumbar puncture (LP) at 75-100% frequency (27.5% PAS; 72% APS, p ). In addition 27.1% of the respondents reported using a routine steroid as an adjunctive treatment (19% PAS; 35% APS, p ). For meningococcal meningitis, 72.5% of the participants preferred to use third-generation cephalosporins (63.1% PAS; 82.1% APS, p ). For pneumococcal meningitis, approximately 50% of the participants preferred to use a third-generation cephalosporin plus glycopeptide (41.5% PAS; 58.9% APS, p < .05). While 32.7% of the sample preferred to administer a 7-day course of antibiotics for meningococcal meningitis, 40.9% preferred a course of 14 days or more. For pneumococcal meningitis, 88.4% of the sample preferred a 10-14 day course of antibiotics. In addition, 67% of the PAS group and 50% (p < .001) of the APS group thought that a conjugated meningococcal vaccine should be a part of the National Immunization Program. The top five groups recommended for routine immunization included all children, asplenia/splenectomy patients, immunodeficient patients, those who planned to travel to endemic areas, including Hajj, and military personnel. Conclusion: In this large convenient sample of physicians in Turkey, we showed that there are heterogenous approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial meningitis, also differences between pediatricians and non-pediatricians regarding their beliefs and attitudes, which may be due to differences in the epidemiology and clinical presentation between children and adults. We observed appropriate but unnecessary extended courses of antibiotics for meningitis. Most of the participants thought that children are a vulnerable risk group that should potentially be immunized and that meningococcal vaccines should be included in the National Immunization Program. Our results imply that more awareness is needed regarding diagnosis, treatment, and further recommendations for meningitis at the country level in Turkey

A severe course of serogroup W meningococcemia in a patient with infantile nephropathic cystinosis

We present a 9-month old boy with cystinosis admitted to our hospital with the complaints of vomiting, diarrhea and seizure. While he was hospitalized in a pediatric intensive care unit due to worsening of his signs related to cystinosis, within hours, he suffered complications of septic shock, acute renal failure, and disseminated intravascular coagulation, due to invasive Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W disease. Our patient is the first reported case of invasive meningococcal disease with cystinosis. Clinicians should consider that the unexpected and serious clinical findings of invasive meningococcal disease can mimic and/or masquerade as other metabolic diseases. Vaccination strategies, according to serogroup epidemiology and age distribution, should be implemented for the prevention of meningococcal infections