Enteric Fever Cases in the Two Largest Pediatric Hospitals of Bangladesh: 2013-2014

Clinical and Laboratory Features of Enteric Fever in Children and Antibiotic Sensitivity Pattern in a Tertiary Care Hospital of a Low- and Middle-Income Country

BACKGROUND

Globally, enteric fever (EF) significantly gives rise to an appalling death toll. It is an endemic illness in Bangladesh and South Asia. The condition manifests in a wide range of clinical features in children. Nowadays, antibiotic resistance is an international stumbling block that hampers the appropriate treatment and outcome of EF.

OBJECTIVE

The study evaluated the clinical and laboratory characteristics and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of Salmonella enterica in children.

METHODS

This prospective research was conducted at Delta Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh, from January 2017 to December 2019. A total of 200 pediatric cases of EF were included in this study who were either culture positive or had significantly raised Widal test titer for Salmonella with suggestive clinical features.

RESULTS

All the patients had a fever, and most had coated tongue, vomiting, abdominal pain, organomegaly, and diarrhea. Among the selected 200 cases of EF, 43.5% were Salmonella typhi culture-positive. A high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was observed in a substantial number (53%) of patients. Ceftriaxone was the most sensitive (100%) antibiotic through laboratory analysis, followed by cefotaxime (95.1%). Among the oral antibiotics used, cefixime (92.8%) was the most sensitive.

CONCLUSION

EF in children can present with varied clinical manifestations. Selective antibiotic treatment according to sensitivity patterns is crucial for effective illness management and will reduce morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population.

Acute febrile illness among outpatients seeking health care in Bangladeshi hospitals prior to the COVID-19 pandemic

Understanding the distribution of pathogens causing acute febrile illness (AFI) is important for clinical management of patients in resource-poor settings. We evaluated the proportion of AFI caused by specific pathogens among outpatients in Bangladesh. During May 2019-March 2020, physicians screened patients aged ≥2 years in outpatient departments of four tertiary level public hospitals. We randomly enrolled patients having measured fever (≥100.4°F) during assessment with onset within the past 14 days. Blood and urine samples were tested at icddr,b through rapid diagnostic tests, bacterial culture, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Acute and convalescent samples were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USA) for Rickettsia and Orientia (R/O) and Leptospira tests. Among 690 patients, 69 (10%) had enteric fever (Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi orSalmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi), 51 (7.4%) Escherichia coli, and 28 (4.1%) dengue detected. Of the 441 patients tested for R/O, 39 (8.8%) had rickettsioses. We found 7 (2%) Leptospira cases among the 403 AFI patients tested. Nine patients (1%) were hospitalized, and none died. The highest proportion of enteric fever (15%, 36/231) and rickettsioses (14%, 25/182) was in Rajshahi. Dhaka had the most dengue cases (68%, 19/28). R/O affected older children and young adults (IQR 8-23 years) and was detected more frequently in the 21-25 years age-group (17%, 12/70). R/O was more likely to be found in patients in Rajshahi region than in Sylhet (aOR 2.49, 95% CI 0.85-7.32) between July and December (aOR 2.01, 1.01-5.23), and who had a history of recent animal entry inside their house than not (aOR 2.0, 0.93-4.3). Gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae were the most common bacterial infections, and dengue was the most common viral infection among AFI patients in Bangladeshi hospitals, though there was geographic variability. These results can help guide empiric outpatient AFI management.

Hospitalization of Pediatric Enteric Fever Cases, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2017-2019: Incidence and Risk Factors

BACKGROUND

Enteric fever causes substantial morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries. Here, we analyzed Surveillance for Enteric Fever in Asia Project (SEAP) data to estimate the burden of enteric fever hospitalization among children aged <15 years and identify risk factors for hospitalization in Bangladesh.

METHODS

SEAP used hospital surveillance paired with a community-based health-care utilization assessment. In SEAP hospital surveillance, blood was obtained for culture from children aged <15 years with ≥3 days of fever. In the hospital catchment area, a health-care utilization survey (HCUS) was conducted to estimate the proportion of febrile children hospitalized at the study hospitals. We analyzed hospital surveillance and HCUS data to estimate the health care-adjusted incidence of enteric fever hospitalization, and conducted univariable and multivariable logistic regressions.

RESULTS

From July 2017 through June 2019, 2243 laboratory-confirmed enteric fever cases were detected in 2 study hospitals; 673 (30%) were hospitalized. The health care-adjusted incidence of enteric fever hospitalization among children <15 years old was 303/100 000 children/year (95% confidence interval [CI], 293-313). Salmonella Typhi contributed most to the enteric fever hospitalization incidence (277/100 000 children/year; 95% CI, 267-287). The incidence was highest among children aged 2 to <5 years (552/100 000 children/year; 95% CI, 522-583), followed by those aged <2 years (316/100 000 children/year; 95% CI, 288-344). Factors independently associated with enteric fever hospitalization included fever duration, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and leukocytopenia.

CONCLUSIONS

We estimated a high burden of hospitalization due to enteric fever among children aged <5 years in Bangladesh. The introduction of a typhoid conjugate vaccine would protect children from typhoid and avert typhoid hospitalizations.

Utilization of Blood Culture in South Asia for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Febrile Illness

BACKGROUND

Blood culture is the current standard for diagnosing bacteremic illnesses, yet it is not clear how physicians in many low- and middle-income countries utilize blood culture for diagnostic purposes and to inform treatment decisions.

METHODS

We screened suspected enteric fever cases from 6 hospitals in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan, and enrolled patients if blood culture was prescribed by the treating physician. We used generalized additive regression models to analyze the probability of receiving blood culture by age, and linear regression models to analyze changes by month to the proportion of febrile cases prescribed a blood culture compared with the burden of febrile illness, stratified by hospital. We used logistic regression to analyze predictors for receiving antibiotics empirically. We descriptively reviewed changes in antibiotic therapy by susceptibility patterns and coverage, stratified by country.

RESULTS

We screened 30 809 outpatients resulting in 1819 enteric fever cases; 1935 additional cases were enrolled from other hospital locations. Younger outpatients were less likely to receive a blood culture. The association between the number of febrile outpatients and the proportion prescribed blood culture varied by hospital. Antibiotics prescribed empirically were associated with severity and provisional diagnoses, but 31% (1147/3754) of enteric fever cases were not covered by initial therapy; this was highest in Pakistan (50%) as many isolates were resistant to cephalosporins, which were commonly prescribed empirically.

CONCLUSIONS

Understanding hospital-level communication between laboratories and physicians may improve patient care and timeliness of appropriate antibiotics, which is important considering the rise of antimicrobial resistance.

Phase I of the Surveillance for Enteric Fever in Asia Project (SEAP): An Overview and Lessons Learned

Objective

The objective of Phase I of the Surveillance for Enteric Fever in Asia Project (SEAP), a multiphase surveillance study characterizing the burden of disease in South Asia, was to inform data collection for prospective surveillance and to capture clinical aspects of disease.

Methods

Through a retrospective record review conducted at hospitals in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, we examined laboratory and clinical records to assess the culture positivity rate for Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Paratyphi, age and sex distribution, and antimicrobial susceptability in each country.

Results

Of all blood cultures performed in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, 1.5%, 0.43%, 2%, and 1.49%, respectively, were positive for S. Typhi and 0.24%, 0.1%, 0.5%, and 0.67%, respectively, were positive for S. Paratyphi. A higher proportion of laboratory-confirmed infections in Bangladesh and Pakistan were aged ≤5 years, while India and Nepal had a higher proportion of participants aged 15–25 years. In all countries, the sex of the majority of participants was male. The majority of isolates in all countries were resistant to fluoroquinolones, with a high proportion also resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.

Discussion

Enteric fever remains endemic in South Asia. Data generated by this study can help inform strategies for implementation and evaluation of prevention and control measures.