INVASIVE PNEUMOCOCCAL DISEASE (IPD) AT A CHILDRENīS HOSPITAL IN COSTA RICA

 

C.M. Odio, M. Herrera, I. Yock

National Children's Hospital, University of Medical Sciences, San Jose, Costa Rica

Pneumococcus remains a leading cause of serious illness among young children worldwide and is the most frequent cause of  meningitis,pneumonia,sinusitis and acute otitis media.

Our objective was to determine the incidence of invasive disease, and the associated morbidity and mortality.

We performed a retrospective chart review of all the clinical isolates recorded in the Laboratory from January 1995 through December 1999. IPD was defined as the isolation of pneumoccus from blood, CSF, peritoneal fluid, bone, joint, pleural fluid, and trachea. Data were collected pertaining focus, hospital stay, days of antibiotics(ABX), mortality and sequelae. For estimation  of the incidence we retrieved from statistics the number of patiens seen yearly.

212 patients had IPD. 60% were male; the mean(range)age was 26mo(4days-10yrs). Isolates were recovered from blood in 50(106)%; CSF,32(68)%; trachea,10(21)%; soft tissue abscess (STA),4(8)%, peritoneal fluid,3(6)% and bone and joint in 1(3)%. Diseases consisted on meningitis,32%; pneumonia,31%; bacteremia,19%;tracheitis,10%; deep seeded STA,4%; peritonitis,3% and osteomyelitis and arthritis,1%.All patients required hospitalization; 67(142)% were admitted to the ICU for a mean(range) time of 2(1-8) days. Mean(range)hospital stay was 11.2(1-50)days, and ABX days 10.9(1-42). Mortality was 4(8)% and sequelae developed in 30(14%)pts. The incidence of IPD in children aged less than 12mo and 12-23 mo was 167 and 215 cases/100,000.

At HNN, IPD is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality with an incidence similar to that reported in the literature.Evaluation of the impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines deserves evaluation.