Procalcitonin guidance to reduce antibiotic treatment of lower respiratory tract infection in children and adolescents (ProPAED): a randomized controlled trial

Use of procalcitonin in therapeutic decisions in the pediatric intensive care unit

Procalcitonin (PCT) is frequently used by clinicians in children with suspected bacterial infections and sepsis. However interpretation in the critically ill child may be challenging due to the complexity of underlying conditions and its impact on PCT values. Herein, we propose a guidance for the use of procalcitonin in critically ill children, supported by a comprehensive analysis of the literature, to help the clinician for interpreting PCT in the various clinical conditions encountered in pediatric intensive care units. We describe the importance of the clinical context, timing of measurement and evidence on PCT values in diagnosing sepsis and to guide antibiotic therapy in critically ill children.

Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs in Pediatric Intensive Care Units: A Systematic Scoping Review

Objectives: We aimed to summarize the current state of antimicrobial stewardship (ASP) and diagnostic stewardship programs (DSPs) implemented in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). Methods: Embase, MEDLINE, Scopus and the Cochrane Library were searched, including studies from 1 January 2007 to 20 February 2024. Studies were included in the review if they assessed the implementation of an ASP or a DSP in a PICU. Identified references were downloaded into Rayyan software, and data were extracted using a standardized data collection form. Results: 18 studies were included; 13 described an ASP intervention, and 5 described a diagnostic stewardship intervention. Most studies were retrospective and adopted a persuasive strategy for ASP, reporting positive effects on antimicrobial consumption. However, studies were dramatically heterogeneous in terms of intervention type, outcomes and metrics used, limiting the possibility of a broader comparison. Diagnostic stewardship studies included mainly the impact of biomarkers and pathogen testing panels without significant impact on antibiotic prescription patterns. Antimicrobial resistance changes were not described by the majority of studies. Conclusions: the implementation of ASP in PICUs is still limited, with significant variability in the metrics used to evaluate outcomes. To enhance the effectiveness of these programs, it is crucial to harmonize reporting metrics to allow an adequate comparison of results and to find the best strategies to inform ASP in PICUs.

Procalcitonin Guided Antibiotic Stewardship

Despite infection and sepsis being a major public health challenge, early detection and timely management are often hindered by several factors. These includes the similarity of clinical presentations between infectious and non-infectious conditisons, as well as limitations of current diagnostic methods such as lengthy turnaround times and low sensitivity. Consequently, there is increasing interest in identifying biomarkers that can quickly and accurately differentiate bacterial sepsis from other inflammatory processes, whether infectious or non-infectious. Procalcitonin has emerged as one of the most extensively studied and utilized biomarkers in managing infection and sepsis, especially within the framework of antibiotic stewardship. This review aims to examine the role of Procalcitonin in guiding antibiotic stewardship. It explores the production and release of procalcitonin and its relevance in the context of infection and sepsis. The discussion focus on the clinical and economic impacts of using procalcitonin to guide the initiation and discontinuation of antibiotics in managing these conditions.

Role of diagnostic tests for sepsis in children: a review

Paediatric sepsis has a significant global impact and highly heterogeneous clinical presentation. The clinical pathway encompasses recognition, escalation and de-escalation. In each aspect, diagnostics have a fundamental influence over outcomes in children. Biomarkers can aid in creating a larger low-risk group of children from those in the clinical grey area who would otherwise receive antibiotics 'just in case'. Current biomarkers include C reactive protein and procalcitonin, which are limited in their clinical use to guide appropriate and rapid treatment. Biomarker discovery has focused on single biomarkers, which, so far, have not outperformed current biomarkers, as they fail to recognise the complexity of sepsis. The identification of multiple host biomarkers that may form a panel in a clinical test has the potential to recognise the complexity of sepsis and provide improved diagnostic performance. In this review, we discuss novel biomarkers and novel ways of using existing biomarkers in the assessment and management of sepsis along with the significant challenges in biomarker discovery at present. Validation of biomarkers is made less meaningful due to methodological heterogeneity, including variations in sepsis diagnosis, biomarker cut-off values and patient populations. Therefore, the utilisation of platform studies is necessary to improve the efficiency of biomarkers in clinical practice.

De-implementation strategy to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions for ambulatory HIV-infected patients with upper respiratory tract infections in Mozambique: a study protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Antibiotics are globally overprescribed for the treatment of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), especially in persons living with HIV. However, most URTIs are caused by viruses, and antibiotics are not indicated. De-implementation is perceived as an important area of research that can lead to reductions in unnecessary, wasteful, or harmful practices, such as excessive or inappropriate antibiotic use for URTI, through the employment of evidence-based interventions to reduce these practices. Research into strategies that lead to successful de-implementation of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions within the primary health care setting is limited in Mozambique. In this study, we propose a protocol designed to evaluate the use of a clinical decision support algorithm (CDSA) for promoting the de-implementation of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions for URTI among ambulatory HIV-infected adult patients in primary healthcare settings.

METHODS

This study is a multicenter, two-arm, cluster randomized controlled trial, involving six primary health care facilities in Maputo and Matola municipalities in Mozambique, guided by an innovative implementation science framework, the Dynamic Adaption Process. In total, 380 HIV-infected patients with URTI symptoms will be enrolled, with 190 patients assigned to both the intervention and control arms. For intervention sites, the CDSAs will be posted on either the exam room wall or on the clinician´s exam room desk for ease of reference during clinical visits. Our sample size is powered to detect a reduction in antibiotic use by 15%. We will evaluate the effectiveness and implementation outcomes and examine the effect of multi-level (sites and patients) factors in promoting the de-implementation of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions. The effectiveness and implementation of our antibiotic de-implementation strategy are the primary outcomes, whereas the clinical endpoints are the secondary outcomes.

DISCUSSION

This research will provide evidence on the effectiveness of the use of the CDSA in promoting the de-implementation of unnecessary antibiotic prescribing in treating acute URTI, among ambulatory HIV-infected patients. Findings will bring evidence for the need to scale up strategies for the de-implementation of unnecessary antibiotic prescription practices in additional healthcare sites within the country.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN, ISRCTN88272350. Registered 16 May 2024, https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN88272350.

Evaluation of serological assays for the diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis disease: a study protocol

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis (TB) poses a major public health challenge, particularly in children. A substantial proportion of children with TB disease remain undetected and unconfirmed. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a highly sensitive point-of-care test. This study aims to assess the performance of serological assays based on various antigen targets and antibody properties in distinguishing children (0-18 years) with TB disease (1) from healthy TB-exposed children, (2) children with non-TB lower respiratory tract infections, and (3) from children with TB infection.

METHODS

The study will use biobanked plasma samples collected from three prospective multicentric diagnostic observational studies: the Childhood TB in Switzerland (CITRUS) study, the Pediatric TB Research Network in Spain (pTBred), and the Procalcitonin guidance to reduce antibiotic treatment of lower respiratory tract infections in children and adolescents (ProPAED) study. Included are children diagnosed with TB disease or infection, healthy TB-exposed children, and sick children with non-TB lower respiratory tract infection. Serological multiplex assays will be performed to identify M. tuberculosis antigen-specific antibody features, including isotypes, subclasses, Fc receptor (FcR) binding, and IgG glycosylation.

DISCUSSION

The findings from this study will help to design serological assays for diagnosing TB disease in children. Importantly, those assays could easily be developed as low-cost point-of-care tests, thereby offering a potential solution for resource-constrained settings.

CLINICALTRIALS

GOV IDENTIFIER

NCT03044509.

Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Children

ABSTRACT

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the most common cause of childhood mortality globally. In the United States, CAP is a leading cause of pediatric hospitalization and antibiotic use and is associated with substantial morbidity. There has been a dramatic shift in microbiological etiologies for CAP in children over time as pneumococcal pneumonia has become less common and viral etiologies have become predominant. There is no commonly agreed on approach to the diagnosis of CAP in children. When indicated, antimicrobial treatment should consist of narrow-spectrum antibiotics. In this article, we will describe the current understanding of the microbiological etiologies, clinical presentation, diagnostic approach, risk factors, treatment, and future directions in the diagnosis and management of pediatric CAP.

Management of Pediatric Pneumonia: A Decade After the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America Guideline

BACKGROUND

Incomplete uptake of guidelines can lead to nonstandardized care, increased expenditures, and adverse clinical outcomes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the 2011 Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America (PIDS/IDSA) pediatric community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) guideline that emphasized aminopenicillin use and de-emphasized the use of chest radiographs (CXRs) in certain populations.

METHODS

This quasi-experimental study queried a national administrative database of children's hospitals to identify children aged 3 months-18 years with CAP who visited 1 of 28 participating hospitals from 2009 to 2021. PIDS/IDSA pediatric CAP guideline recommendations regarding antibiotic therapy, diagnostic testing, and imaging were evaluated. Segmented regression interrupted time series was used to measure guideline-concordant practices with interruptions for guideline publication and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

RESULTS

Of 315 384 children with CAP, 71 804 (22.8%) were hospitalized. Among hospitalized children, there was a decrease in blood culture performance (0.5% per quarter) and increase in aminopenicillin prescribing (1.1% per quarter). Among children discharged from the emergency department (ED), there was an increase in aminopenicillin prescription (0.45% per quarter), whereas the rate of obtaining CXRs declined (0.12% per quarter). However, use of CXRs rebounded during the COVID-19 pandemic (increase of 1.56% per quarter). Hospital length of stay, ED revisit rates, and hospital readmission rates remained stable.

CONCLUSIONS

Guideline publication was associated with an increase of aminopenicillin prescribing. However, rates of diagnostic testing did not materially change, suggesting the need to consider implementation strategies to meaningfully change clinical practice for children with CAP.

AACC Guidance Document on the Clinical Use of Procalcitonin

BACKGROUND

Procalcitonin (PCT), a peptide precursor of the hormone calcitonin, is a biomarker whose serum concentrations are elevated in response to systemic inflammation caused by bacterial infection and sepsis. Clinical adoption of PCT in the United States has only recently gained traction with an increasing number of Food and Drug Administration-approved assays and expanded indications for use. There is interest in the use of PCT as an outcomes predictor as well as an antibiotic stewardship tool. However, PCT has limitations in specificity, and conclusions surrounding its utility have been mixed. Further, there is a lack of consensus regarding appropriate timing of measurements and interpretation of results. There is also a lack of method harmonization for PCT assays, and questions remain regarding whether the same clinical decision points may be used across different methods.

CONTENT

This guidance document aims to address key questions related to the use of PCT to manage adult, pediatric, and neonatal patients with suspected sepsis and/or bacterial infections, particularly respiratory infections. The document explores the evidence for PCT utility for antimicrobial therapy decisions and outcomes prediction. Additionally, the document discusses analytical and preanalytical considerations for PCT analysis and confounding factors that may affect the interpretation of PCT results.

SUMMARY

While PCT has been studied widely in various clinical settings, there is considerable variability in study designs and study populations. Evidence to support the use of PCT to guide antibiotic cessation is compelling in the critically ill and in some lower respiratory tract infections but is lacking in other clinical scenarios, and evidence is also limited in the pediatric and neonatal populations. Interpretation of PCT results requires guidance from multidisciplinary care teams of clinicians, pharmacists, and clinical laboratorians.

Clinical Predictors and Biomarkers in Children With Sepsis and Bacterial Meningitis

OBJECTIVES

Sepsis and meningitis in children may present with different clinical features and a wide range of values of inflammatory markers. The aim of this study was to identify the prognostic value of clinical features and biomarkers in children with sepsis and bacterial meningitis in the emergency department (ED).

METHODS

We carried out a single-center, retrospective, observational study on 194 children aged 0 to 14 years with sepsis and bacterial meningitis admitted to the pediatric ED of a tertiary children's hospital through 12 years.

RESULTS

Among epidemiological and early clinical features, age older than 12 months, capillary refill time greater than 3 seconds, and oxygen blood saturation lower than 90% were significantly associated with unfavorable outcomes, along with neurological signs ( P < 0.05). Among laboratory tests, only procalcitonin was an accurate and early prognostic biomarker for sepsis and bacterial meningitis in the ED, both on admission and after 24 hours. Procalcitonin cut-off value on admission for short-term complications was 19.6 ng/mL, whereas the cut-off values for long-term sequelae were 19.6 ng/mL on admission and 41.9 ng/mL after 24 hours, respectively. The cut-off values for mortality were 18.9 ng/mL on admission and 62.4 ng/mL at 24 hours.

CONCLUSIONS

Procalcitonin, along with clinical evaluation, can guide the identification of children at higher risk of morbidity and mortality, allowing the most appropriate monitoring and treatment.

Efficacy and safety of azithromycin versus placebo to treat lower respiratory tract infections associated with low procalcitonin: a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, non-inferiority trial

BACKGROUND

Lower respiratory tract infections are frequently treated with antibiotics, despite a viral cause in many cases. It remains unknown whether low procalcitonin concentrations can identify patients with lower respiratory tract infection who are unlikely to benefit from antibiotics. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of azithromycin versus placebo to treat lower respiratory tract infections in patients with low procalcitonin.

METHODS

We conducted a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, non-inferiority trial at five health centres in the USA. Adults aged 18 years or older with clinically suspected non-pneumonia lower respiratory tract infection and symptom duration from 24 h to 28 days were eligible for enrolment. Participants with a procalcitonin concentration of 0·25 ng/mL or less were randomly assigned (1:1), in blocks of four with stratification by site, to receive over-encapsulated oral azithromycin 250 mg or matching placebo (two capsules on day 1 followed by one capsule daily for 4 days). Participants, non-study clinical providers, investigators, and study coordinators were masked to treatment allocation. The primary outcome was efficacy of azithromycin versus placebo in terms of clinical improvement at day 5 in the intention-to-treat population. The non-inferiority margin was -12·5%. Solicited adverse events (abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, allergic reaction, or yeast infections) were recorded as a secondary outcome. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03341273.

FINDINGS

Between Dec 8, 2017, and March 9, 2020, 691 patients were assessed for eligibility and 499 were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive azithromycin (n=249) or placebo (n=250). Clinical improvement at day 5 was observed in 148 (63%, 95% CI 54 to 71) of 238 participants with full data in the placebo group and 155 (69%, 61 to 77) of 227 participants with full data in the azithromycin group in the intention-to-treat analysis (between-group difference -6%, 95% CI -15 to 2). The 95% CI for the difference did not meet the non-inferiority margin. Solicited adverse events and the severity of solicited adverse events were not significantly different between groups at day 5, except for increased abdominal pain associated with azithromycin (47 [23%, 95% CI 18 to 29] of 204 participants) compared with placebo (35 [16%, 12 to 21] of 221; between-group difference -7% [95% CI -15 to 0]; p=0·066).

INTERPRETATION

Placebo was not non-inferior to azithromycin in terms of clinical improvement at day 5 in adults with lower respiratory tract infection and a low procalcitonin concentration. After accounting for both the rates of clinical improvement and solicited adverse events at day 5, it is unclear whether antibiotics are indicated for patients with lower respiratory tract infection and a low procalcitonin concentration.

FUNDING

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, bioMérieux.

Monocyte, Lymphocyte and Neutrophil Ratios - Easy-to-Use Biomarkers for the Diagnosis of Pediatric Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte-ratio (NLR), neutrophil-to-monocyte-plus-lymphocyte-ratio (NMLR) and monocyte-to-lymphocyte-ratio (MLR) may have diagnostic potential for tuberculosis (TB).

METHODS

Data of two prospective multicenter studies in Switzerland were used, which included children <18 years with TB exposure, infection or disease or with febrile non-TB lower-respiratory-tract infection (nTB-LRTI).

RESULTS

Of the 389 children included 25 (6.4%) had TB disease, 12 (3.1%) TB infection, 28 (7.2%) were healthy TB exposed and 324 (83.3%) nTB-LRTI. Median (IQR) NLR was highest with 2.0 (1.2, 2.2) in children with TB disease compared to TB exposed [0.8 (0.6, 1.3); P = 0.002] and nTB-LRTI [0.3 (0.1, 1.0); P < 0.001]. Median (IQR) NMLR was highest with 1.4 (1.2, 1.7) in children with TB disease compared to healthy exposed [0.7 (0.6, 1.1); P = 0.003] and children with nTB-LRTI [0.2 (0.1, 0.6); P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curves to detect TB disease compared to nTB-LRTI for NLR and NMLR had an area under the curve of 0.82 and 0.86, the sensitivity of 88% and 88%, and specificity of 71% and 76%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

NLR and NMLR are promising, easy-to-obtain diagnostic biomarkers to differentiate children with TB disease from other lower respiratory tract infections. These results require validation in a larger study and in settings with high and low TB endemicity.

Use of biomarkers to individualize antimicrobial therapy duration: a narrative review

BACKGROUND

Reducing the overuse of antimicrobials is imperative for the sake of minimizing antimicrobial-associated adverse effects, optimizing resource utilization, and curtailing the rise in multidrug-resistant organisms. Biomarkers reflect the host responses to infection and may assist with minimizing unnecessary antimicrobial usage.

OBJECTIVES

To review the literature pertaining to the performance of biomarkers specifically used to guide the duration of antimicrobial therapy (AMT).

SOURCES

Randomized controlled trials, observational studies, and meta-analyses assessing biomarker-guided approaches to AMT decision-making and their impact on the duration of therapy were reviewed.

CONTENT

Several randomized controlled trials and real-world observational studies have shown that a procalcitonin (PCT)-guided strategy can help clinicians individualize the duration of AMT, particularly among non-critically ill patients hospitalized with suspected respiratory tract infections when using a PCT cut-off value of <0.25 μg/L and critically ill patients with respiratory tract infections or undifferentiated sepsis when using a PCT cut-off value of <0.5 μg/L or ≥80% decline in the peak level. C-reactive protein is a non-specific marker of inflammation that may also assist with an early discontinuation of AMT; however, data are limited. Haematological biomarkers are prone to variance between individuals and are often influenced by medications and non-infectious conditions, making them less reliable for the purposes of AMT decision-making. Novel biomarkers such as multi-protein signatures and host gene expression tests have shown promise as tools to better differentiate between bacterial and non-bacterial infections; clinical studies are needed to determine whether they can be used to help optimize the duration of AMT.

IMPLICATIONS

Studies have demonstrated that a PCT-guided strategy, when utilized appropriately, can help guide clinicians to individualize and often reduce the duration of AMT, especially in patients hospitalized with respiratory tract infections and those admitted to the intensive care unit with suspected respiratory tract infections or sepsis. The impact of utilizing other biomarkers is less clear and requires further study.

The impact of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programmes in paediatric emergency departments and primary care: a systematic review

Background

Antibiotics remain the most prescribed medicine in children worldwide, but half of the prescriptions are unnecessary or inappropriate, leading to an increase in antibiotic resistance. This study aims to systemically review the effects of different Antimicrobial Stewardship Programmes (ASPs) on reducing the rates of both antibiotic prescriptions and changes in antimicrobial resistance, and on the economic impact in paediatric emergency departments (PED) and primary care settings.

Materials and methods

Embase, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched, combining Medical Subject Heading and free-text terms for 'children' and 'antimicrobial' and 'stewardship'. The search strategy involved restrictions on dates (from 1 January 2007 to 30 December 2020) but not on language. Randomized controlled trials, controlled and non-controlled before and after studies, controlled and non-controlled interrupted time series, and cohort studies were included for review. The review protocol was registered at the PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews: Registration Number CRD42021270630.

Results

Of the 47,158 articles that remained after removing duplicates, 59 were eligible for inclusion. Most of the studies were published after 2015 (37/59, 62.7%) and in high-income countries (51/59, 86.4%). Almost half of the studies described the implementation of an ASP in the primary care setting (28/59, 47.5%), while 15 manuscripts described the implementation of ASPs in EDs (15/59, 25.4%). More than half of the studies (43/59, 72.9%) described the implementation of multiple interventions, whereas few studies considered the implementation of a single intervention. Antibiotic prescriptions and compliance with guidelines were the most frequent outcomes (47/59, 79.7% and 20/59, 33.9%, respectively). Most of the articles reported an improvement in these outcomes after implementing an ASP. Meanwhile, only very few studies focused on health care costs (6/59, 10.2%) and antimicrobial resistance (3/59 5.1%).

Conclusion

The implementation of ASPs has been proven to be feasible and valuable, even in challenging settings such as Emergency Departments and Primary care.

Variation in bacterial pneumonia diagnoses and outcomes among children hospitalized with lower respiratory tract infections

BACKGROUND

Current diagnostics do not permit reliable differentiation of bacterial from viral causes of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), which may lead to over-treatment with antibiotics for possible bacterial community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

OBJECTIVES

We sought to describe variation in the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial CAP among children hospitalized with LRTIs and determine the association between CAP diagnosis and outcomes.

DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

This multicenter cross-sectional study included children hospitalized between 2017 and 2019 with LRTIs at 42 children's hospitals.

MAIN OUTCOME AND METHODS

We calculated the proportion of children with LRTIs who were diagnosed with and treated for bacterial CAP. After adjusting for confounders, hospitals were grouped into high, moderate, and low CAP diagnosis groups. Multivariable regression was used to examine the association between high and low CAP diagnosis groups and outcomes.

RESULTS

We identified 66,581 patients hospitalized with LRTIs and observed substantial variation across hospitals in the proportion diagnosed with and treated for bacterial CAP (median 27%, range 12%-42%). Compared with low CAP diagnosing hospitals, high diagnosing hospitals had higher rates of CAP-related revisits (0.6% [95% confidence interval: 0.5, 0.7] vs. 0.4% [0.4, 0.5], p = .04), chest radiographs (58% [53, 62] vs. 46% [41, 51], p = .02), and blood tests (43% [33, 53] vs. 26% [19, 35], p = .046). There were no significant differences in length of stay, all-cause revisits or readmissions, CAP-related readmissions, or costs.

CONCLUSION

There was wide variation across hospitals in the proportion of children with LRTIs who were treated for bacterial CAP. The lack of meaningful differences in clinical outcomes among hospitals suggests that some institutions may over-diagnose and overtreat bacterial CAP.

Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy for pediatrics with infective disease: A updated meta-analyses and trial sequential analysis

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to evaluate the effect of procalcitonin (PCT) guided therapy on antibiotic exposure in pediatric patients with infectious disease.

METHODS

We performed an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) identified in systematic searches of MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Database, Google Scholar, and SinoMed (through July 2021). The primary outcome was the length of the antibiotic therapy. Required information size (RIS) was calculated using trial sequential analysis (TSA).

RESULTS

Four RCTs with 1,313 patients with infectious disease were included. Overall, after a mean 22-day follow-up, PCT-guided antibiotic therapy was associated with a significantly shorter length of antibiotic therapy compared with the control group (WMD, -2.22 days; 95% CI, -3.41 to -1.03; P <0.001) and a decreased rate of antibiotic adverse events (RR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.11-0.58; P <0.001). However, the length of hospital stay (WMD, -0.39 days; 95% CI, -0.84 to 0.07; P = 0.094), rates of antibiotic prescription (RR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.97-1.25; P = 0.122), hospital readmission (RR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.92-1.16; P = 0.613) and mortality (RR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.17-3.19; P = 0.674) were comparable between the PCT-guided antibiotic and control groups. TSA showed that the RIS was 2,340, indicating a statistically significantly shorter length of antibiotic therapy between PCT-guided antibiotic and control groups (P <0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

PCT-guided management seems to be able to decrease antibiotic exposure in patients with infectious disease. However, much larger prospective clinical studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

Low Levels of Procalcitonin Are Related to Decreased Antibiotic Use in Children Hospitalized Due to Influenza

Procalcitonin increases in bacterial infections, which are often suspected (though rarely confirmed) in paediatric influenza. We retrospectively verified procalcitonin’s usefulness in antibiotic guidance in children hospitalized due to laboratory-confirmed influenza. The ROC curve analysis evaluated procalcitonin’s performance in terms of antibiotic implementation or continuation in patients who were naive or had been receiving antibiotic treatment prior to hospital admission. We also assessed the procalcitonin’s usefulness to predict lower-respiratory-tract infections (LRTI), the presence of radiologically confirmed pneumonia, an intensive care unit transfer and a fatal outcome. Multiple regression models were built to verify the previously reported procalcitonin cut-off values. The study enrolled 371 children (median age 33 months). The AUC (area under the curve) for antibiotic implementation reached 0.66 (95%CI: 0.58–0.73) and 0.713 (95%CI: 0.6–0.83) for antibiotic continuation; optimal cut-offs (0.4 and 0.23 ng/mL, respectively) resulted in a negative predictive value (NPV) of 79.7% (95%CI: 76.2–82.9%) and 54.6% (95%CI: 45.8–63%), respectively. The use of 0.25 ng/mL as a reference decreased the odds of antibiotic treatment by 67% (95%CI: 43–81%) and 91% (95%CI: 56–98%), respectively. Procalcitonin showed lower AUC for the prediction of LRTI and pneumonia (0.6, 95%CI: 0.53–0.66, and 0.63, 95%CI: 0.56–0.7, respectively), with a moderately high NPV in the latter case (83%, 95%CI: 79.3–86.1%). Procalcitonin use may decrease the antibiotic frequency in hospitalized influenza cases both in terms of antibiotic administration and continuation. Procalcitonin concentrations may suggest bacterial suprainfections at lower concentrations than in adults, and a focus on its rule-out value is of special interest.

Role of procalcitonin in diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia in Children

BACKGROUND

The role of serum Procalcitonin (PCT) in adults in diagnosis of Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is well established, however, role in pediatric CAP remains controversial.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to investigate the utility of serum procalcitonin in differentiating bacterial community-acquired lower respiratory tract infection from non-bacterial respiratory infection in children; radiologically confirmed pneumonia was used as the reference. In addition, we assessed the utility of adding the PCT assay to the clinical criteria for diagnosis of pneumonia.

STUDY DESIGN

Subanalysis of a larger prospective,multicentriccohort study.

PARTICIPANTS

Children, 2 months to 59 months of age, attending paediatric OPD of 5 urban tertiary care hospitals, suffering from acute respiratory infection (ARI).

INTERVENTION

Detailed clinical history and examination findings of enrolled children were recorded on predesigned case record form. Samples for PCT were obtained at admission and were measured centrally at the end of the study except for one site using VIDAS® B.R.A.H.M.S PCT kit (Biomerieux SA, France).

OUTCOMES

Sensitivity and specificity of procalcitonin for diagnosis of radiologically confirmed pneumonia.

RESULTS

Serum Procalcitonin was measured in 370 patients; median (IQR) age of these children being 12 (7, 22) months, 235 (63.5%) were boys. The median (IQR) serum procalcitonin concentration was 0.1(0.05, 0.4) ng/mL.Sensitivity and specificity of raised PCT (> 0.5 ng/mL) for pneumonia as per any CXR abnormalities were 29.7% and87.5%,(P < 0.001) respectively. Raised PCT was also significantly associated with consolidation (34.5%,79.2%,P < 0.02)and pleural effusion(54.6%,79%,P < 001). Adding PCT to the existing clinical criteria of WHO did not improve the sensitivity for diagnosis of pneumonia. PCT was significantly higher in children with severe pneumonia.

CONCLUSION

Positive PCT (> 0.5 ng/mL) is significantly associated with radiographic pneumonia but not with pneumonia based on WHO criteria.However, it can act as a surrogate marker for severe pneumonia.

Association Between Procalcitonin and Antibiotics in Children With Community-Acquired Pneumonia

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether empirical antibiotic initiation and selection for children with pneumonia was associated with procalcitonin (PCT) levels when results were blinded to clinicians.

METHODS

We enrolled children <18 years with radiographically confirmed pneumonia at 2 children's hospitals from 2014 to 2019. Blood for PCT was collected at enrollment (blinded to clinicians). We modeled associations between PCT and (1) antibiotic initiation and (2) antibiotic selection (narrow versus broad-spectrum) using multivariable logistic regression models. To quantify potential stewardship opportunities, we calculated proportions of noncritically ill children receiving antibiotics who also had a low likelihood of bacterial etiology (PCT <0.25 ng/mL) and those receiving broad-spectrum therapy, regardless of PCT level.

RESULTS

We enrolled 488 children (median PCT, 0.37 ng/mL; interquartile range [IQR], 0.11-2.38); 85 (17%) received no antibiotics (median PCT, 0.32; IQR, 0.09-1.33). Among the 403 children receiving antibiotics, 95 (24%) received narrow-spectrum therapy (median PCT, 0.24; IQR, 0.08-2.52) and 308 (76%) received broad-spectrum (median PCT, 0.46; IQR, 0.12-2.83). In adjusted analyses, PCT values were not associated with antibiotic initiation (odds ratio [OR], 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.97%-1.06%) or empirical antibiotic selection (OR 1.07; 95% CI, 0.97%-1.17%). Of those with noncritical illness, 246 (69%) were identified as potential targets for antibiotic stewardship interventions.

CONCLUSION

Neither antibiotic initiation nor empirical antibiotic selection were associated with PCT values. Whereas other factors may inform antibiotic treatment decisions, the observed discordance between objective likelihood of bacterial etiology and antibiotic use suggests important opportunities for stewardship.

The kinetic profiles of copeptin and mid regional proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM) in pediatric lower respiratory tract infections

Background

Kinetics of copeptin and mid regional proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM) during febrile pediatric lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) are unknown. We aimed to analyze kinetic profiles of copeptin and MR-proADM and the impact of clinical and laboratory factors on those biomarkers.

Methods

This is a retrospective post-hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial, evaluating procalcitonin guidance for antibiotic treatment of LRTI (ProPAED-study). In 175 pediatric patients presenting to the emergency department plasma copeptin and MR-proADM concentrations were determined on day 1, 3, and 5. Their association with clinical characteristics and other inflammatory biomarkers were tested by non-linear mixed effect modelling.

Results

Median copeptin and MR-proADM values were elevated on day 1 and decreased during on day 3 and 5 (-26%; -34%, respectively). The initial concentrations of MR-proADM at inclusion were higher in patients receiving antibiotics intravenously compared to oral administration (difference 0.62 pmol/L, 95%CI 0.44;1.42, p<0.001). Intensive care unit (ICU) admission was associated with a daily increase of MR-proADM (increase/day 1.03 pmol/L, 95%CI 0.43;1.50, p<0.001). Positive blood culture in patients with antibiotic treatment and negative results on nasopharyngeal aspirates, or negative blood culture were associated with a decreasing MR-proADM (decrease/day -0.85 pmol/L, 95%CI -0.45;-1.44), p<0.001).

Conclusion

Elevated MR-proADM and increases thereof were associated with ICU admission suggesting the potential as a prognostic factor for severe pediatric LRTI. MR-proADM might only bear limited value for decision making on stopping antibiotics due to its slow decrease. Copeptin had no added value in our setting.

Association of Clinical Signs, Host Biomarkers and Etiology With Radiological Pneumonia in Bhutanese Children

Diagnosing pneumonia and identifying those requiring antibiotherapy remain challenging. Chest radiographs (CXR) are often used as the reference standard. We aimed to describe clinical characteristics, host-response biomarkers and etiology, and assess their relationship to CXR findings in children with pneumonia in Thimphu, Bhutan. Children between 2 and 59 months hospitalized with WHO-defined pneumonia were prospectively enrolled and classified into radiological endpoint and non-endpoint pneumonia. Blood and nasopharyngeal washing were collected for microbiological analyses and plasma levels of 11 host-response biomarkers were measured. Among 149 children with readable CXR, 39 (26.2%) presented with endpoint pneumonia. Identification of respiratory viruses was common, with no significant differences by radiological outcomes. No clinical sign was suggestive of radiological pneumonia, but children with radiological pneumonia presented higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein and procalcitonin. Markers of endothelial and immune activation had little accuracy for the reliable identification of radiological pneumonia.

Procalcitonin at 12-36 hours of fever for prediction of invasive bacterial infections in hospitalized febrile neonates

AIM

We aimed to investigate the performance of procalcitonin (PCT) assay between 12 and 36 h after onset of fever (PCT H12-H36) to predict invasive bacterial infection (IBI) (ie, meningitis and/or bacteremia) in febrile neonates.

METHODS

We retrospectively included all febrile neonates hospitalized in the general pediatric department in a teaching hospital from January 2013 to December 2019. PCT assay ≤ 0.6 ng/ml was defined as negative. The primary outcome was to study the performance of PCT H12-H36 to predict IBI.

RESULTS

Out of 385 included neonates, IBI was ascertainable for 357 neonates (92.7%). We found 16 IBI: 3 meningitis and 13 bacteremia. Sensitivity and specificity of PCT H12-H36 in the identification of IBI were, respectively, 100% [95% CI 82.9-100%] and 71.8% [95% CI 66.8-76.6%], with positive and negative predictive values of 14.3% [95% CI 8.4-22.2%] and 100% [95% CI 98.8-100%] respectively. Of the 259 neonates who had a PCT assay within the first 12 h of fever (< H12) and a PCT assay after H12-H36, 8 had IBI. Two of these 8 neonates had a negative < H12 PCT but a positive H12-H36 PCT.

CONCLUSIONS

PCT H12-H36 did not miss any IBI whereas < H12 PCT could missed IBI diagnoses. PCT H12-H36 might be included in clinical decision rule to help physicians to stop early antibiotics in febrile neonates.

Procalcitonin Use: Variation Across Hospitals and Trends Over Time

OBJECTIVES

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a relatively novel biomarker that may be superior to C-reactive protein (CRP) in identifying bacterial infection. PCT use in pediatric hospitals is relatively unknown. We aimed to evaluate PCT and CRP use, describe PCT testing variability across children's hospitals, and compare temporal rates of PCT and CRP testing for patients admitted with pneumonia, sepsis, or fever in young infants.

METHODS

In this multicenter cohort study, we identified children ≤18 years old hospitalized from 2014-2018 with pneumonia, sepsis, or fever in infants <2 months by using the Pediatric Health Information System. To determine use, we evaluated the proportion of encounters with PCT or CRP testing from 2017-2018. We generated heat maps to describe PCT use across hospitals. We also compared PCT and CRP rates over time from 2014 to 2018.

RESULTS

From 2017-2018, PCT testing occurred in 3988 of 34c231 (12%) hospitalizations. Febrile infants had the highest PCT testing proportion (18%), followed by sepsis (15%) and pneumonia (9%). There was across-hospital variability in PCT testing, particularly for febrile infants. Over time, the odds of PCT testing increased at a significantly greater rate than that of CRP.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite limited guideline recommendations for PCT testing during the study period, PCT use increased over time with across-hospital variability. For pneumonia and sepsis, given the importance of high-value care, we need to understand the impact of PCT on patient outcomes. With recent guidelines recommending PCT in the evaluation of febrile infants, we identified baseline testing behaviors for future studies on guideline impact.

Rapid Diagnostic Tests to Guide Case Management of and Improve Antibiotic Stewardship for Pediatric Acute Respiratory Illnesses in Resource-Constrained Settings: a Prospective Cohort Study in Southwestern Uganda

Pediatric acute respiratory illness (ARI) is one of the most common reasons for evaluation at peripheral health centers in sub-Saharan Africa and is frequently managed based on clinical syndrome alone. Although most ARI episodes are likely caused by self-limited viral infections, the majority are treated with antibiotics. This overuse contributes to the development of antimicrobial resistance. To evaluate the preliminary feasibility and potential impact of adding pathogen-specific and clinical biomarker diagnostic testing to existing clinical management algorithms, we conducted a prospective, observational cohort study of 225 children presenting with malaria-negative, febrile ARI to the outpatient department of a semi-urban peripheral health facility in southwestern Uganda from October 2019 to January 2020. In addition to routine clinical evaluation, we performed influenza and Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen testing and measured levels of C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, and lactate in the clinic's laboratory, and conducted a follow-up assessment by phone 7 days later. Almost one-fifth of participants (40/225) tested positive for influenza. Clinical biomarker measurements were low with C-reactive protein of >40 mg/L in only 11% (13/222) of participants and procalcitonin >0.25 ng/mL in only 13% (16/125). All but two children received antibiotic treatment; only 3% (7/225) were admitted. At follow-up, 59% (118/201) of caregivers reported at least one persistent symptom, but fever had resolved for all children. Positive influenza testing was associated with persistent symptoms. In summary, we demonstrate that simple, rapid pathogen-specific testing and biomarker measurement are possible in resource-limited settings and could improve syndromic management and, in turn, antibiotic stewardship. IMPORTANCE Globally, respiratory illness is one of the most common reasons that children seek care. It is often treated inappropriately with antibiotics, which can drive the development of antibiotic resistance. In resource-rich settings, testing for specific pathogens or measurement of clinical biomarkers, such as procalcitonin and C-reactive protein, is often employed to help determine which children should receive antibiotics. However, there are limited data on the use of these tests in resource-constrained, outpatient contexts in sub-Saharan Africa. We enrolled children with respiratory illness presenting to a clinic in southwestern Uganda and performed testing for influenza, Streptococcus pneumoniae, C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin on-site. Almost all children received antibiotics. We demonstrate that employing clinical algorithms that include influenza and clinical biomarker testing could significantly decrease antibiotic prescriptions. Our study therefore provides preliminary data to support the feasibility and potential utility of diagnostics to improve management of respiratory illness in resource-constrained settings.

A comparison of host response strategies to distinguish bacterial and viral infection

OBJECTIVES

Compare three host response strategies to distinguish bacterial and viral etiologies of acute respiratory illness (ARI).

METHODS

In this observational cohort study, procalcitonin, a 3-protein panel (CRP, IP-10, TRAIL), and a host gene expression mRNA panel were measured in 286 subjects with ARI from four emergency departments. Multinomial logistic regression and leave-one-out cross validation were used to evaluate the protein and mRNA tests.

RESULTS

The mRNA panel performed better than alternative strategies to identify bacterial infection: AUC 0.93 vs. 0.83 for the protein panel and 0.84 for procalcitonin (P<0.02 for each comparison). This corresponded to a sensitivity and specificity of 92% and 83% for the mRNA panel, 81% and 73% for the protein panel, and 68% and 87% for procalcitonin, respectively. A model utilizing all three strategies was the same as mRNA alone. For the diagnosis of viral infection, the AUC was 0.93 for mRNA and 0.84 for the protein panel (p<0.05). This corresponded to a sensitivity and specificity of 89% and 82% for the mRNA panel, and 85% and 62% for the protein panel, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

A gene expression signature was the most accurate host response strategy for classifying subjects with bacterial, viral, or non-infectious ARI.

Antibiotic therapy in children with community-acquired pneumonia

PubMed was reviewed on antibiotic treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children for the years 2011-2020, and three clinical trials in high-income and eight in low-income countries were found. Prospective studies combining laboratory and clinical findings for steering of antibiotic treatment found that five-day courses were equally effective as longer courses. No new antibiotics were launched for children's CAP during the last 10 years. Five-day courses are equally effective as 7- to 10-day courses for CAP in children. Stewardship of antibiotics needs lessening of exposure to antibiotics by better targeting their use and by shortening the lengths of antibiotic courses.

Does procalcitonin have clinical utility in the management of paediatric community-acquired pneumonia? A PRO/CON debate

Although the overwhelming majority of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children is caused by viral infections, treatment of CAP is among the most common indications for antibiotic use in children. This is largely driven by the imprecision of clinical diagnostic tools to differentiate viral from bacterial pneumonia and highlights the need for improved approaches to optimizing management of CAP in children. In this issue of JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance, we present a PRO/CON debate that discusses the clinical utility of procalcitonin in children with CAP.

Multistep antimicrobial stewardship intervention on antibiotic prescriptions and treatment duration in children with pneumonia

INTRODUCTION

The Italian antimicrobial prescription rate is one of the highest in Europe, and antibiotic resistance has become a serious problem with high costs and severe consequences, including prolonged illnesses, the increased period of hospitalization and mortality. Inadequate antibiotic prescriptions have been frequently reported, especially for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI); many patients receive antibiotics for viral pneumonia or bronchiolitis or broad-spectrum antibiotics for not complicated community-acquired pneumonia. For this reason, healthcare organizations need to implement strategies to raise physicians' awareness about this kind of drug and their overall effect on the population. The implementation of antibiotic stewardship programs and the use of Clinical Pathways (CPs) are excellent solutions because they have proven to be effective tools at diagnostic and therapeutic levels.

AIMS

This study evaluates the impact of CPs implementation in a Pediatric Emergency Department (PED), analyzing antibiotic prescriptions before and after the publication in 2015 and 2019. The CP developed in 2019 represents an update of the previous one with the introduction of serum procalcitonin. The study aims to evaluate the antibiotic prescriptions in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) before and after both CPs (2015 and 2019).

METHODS

The periods analyzed are seven semesters (one before CP-2015 called PRE period, five post CP-2015 called POST 1-5 and 1 post CP-2019 called POST6). The patients have been split into two groups: (i) children admitted to the Pediatric Acute Care Unit (INPATIENTS), and (ii) patients evaluated in the PED and sent back home (OUTPATIENTS). We have analyzed all descriptive diagnosis of CAP (the assessment of episodes with a descriptive diagnosis were conducted independently by two pediatricians) and CAP with ICD9 classification. All antibiotic prescriptions for pediatric patients with CAP were analyzed.

RESULTS

A drastic reduction of broad-spectrum antibiotics prescription for inpatients has been noticed; from 100.0% in the PRE-period to 66.7% in POST1, and up to 38.5% in POST6. Simultaneously, an increase in amoxicillin use from 33.3% in the PRE-period to 76.1% in POST1 (p-value 0.078 and 0.018) has been seen. The outpatients' group's broad-spectrum antibiotics prescriptions decreased from 54.6% PRE to 17.4% in POST6. Both for outpatients and inpatients, there was a decrease of macrolides. The inpatient group's antibiotic therapy duration decreased from 13.5 days (PRE-period) to 7.0 days in the POST6. Antibiotic therapy duration in the outpatient group decreased from 9.0 days (PRE) to 7.0 days (POST1), maintaining the same value in subsequent periods. Overlapping results were seen in the ICD9 group for both inpatients and outpatients.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that CPs are effective tools for an antibiotic stewardship program. Indeed, broad-spectrum antibiotics usage has dropped and amoxicillin prescriptions have increased after implementing the CAP CP-2015 and the 2019 update.

CON: Procalcitonin does not have clinical utility in children with community-acquired pneumonia

Most clinical studies supporting procalcitonin (PCT)-guided management of lower respiratory tract infections have been performed in adults. There is a paucity of studies evaluating the clinical impact of PCT use in children and limited data informing age-appropriate PCT cut-offs; diagnostic accuracy in immunocompromised children; patient subgroups most likely to benefit from PCT testing; whether PCT adds value beyond available rapid molecular viral diagnostics; and optimal implementation strategies for PCT-guided treatment. At the present time there is little evidence to support routine use of PCT to aid management of paediatric pneumonia.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Biomarkers for Pediatric Pneumonia

BACKGROUND

Pneumonia causes significant morbidity and mortality in children worldwide, especially in resource-poor settings. Accurate identification of bacterial etiology leads to timely antibiotic initiation, minimizing overuse, and development of resistance. Host biomarkers may improve diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. We assessed the ability of biomarkers to correctly identify bacterial pneumonia in children who present with respiratory distress.

METHODS

A librarian-directed search was conducted of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, Global Health, the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and ClinicalTrials.gov to May 2020 with no language restriction. Included studies compared a diagnostic biomarker in children with bacterial pneumonia to those with nonbacterial respiratory distress.

RESULTS

There were 31 observational studies of 23 different biomarkers. C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), white blood cell (WBC) count, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were the biomarkers with sufficient data for meta-analysis. Meta-analysis revealed that CRP and PCT best differentiated bacterial from viral pneumonia with CRP summary AUROC (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) 0.71 (0.69-0.73), Youden index 53 mg/L, sensitivity 0.70 (0.68-0.78), and specificity 0.64 (0.58-0.68) and PCT summary AUROC 0.70 (0.67-0.74), Youden index 0.59 ng/mL, sensitivity 0.69 (0.65-0.77), and specificity 0.64 (0.60-0.68). WBC and ESR did not perform as well. Nineteen other inflammatory and immunologic biomarkers were identified including CRP/mean platelet value, neutrophil/leukocyte ratio, interleukin 6, and interferon-alpha, with sensitivities from 60% to 85% and specificities from 76% to 83%.

CONCLUSION

CRP and PCT performed better than WBC and ESR but had suboptimal sensitivity. Some less well-studied novel biomarkers appear to have promise particularly in combination.

PRO: Procalcitonin has clinical utility in children with community-acquired pneumonia

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a useful, albeit imperfect, diagnostic aid that can help clinicians make more informed decisions around antibiotic use in children with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI), including community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Recent data suggest that a very low PCT concentration has a high negative predictive value to identify a population of children at low risk of typical bacterial infections. Although the preponderance of data on the clinical utility of PCT in LRTI come from adult studies, the potential for benefit is likely greatest in paediatric CAP and other LRTIs where viral aetiologies predominate, yet antibiotics are frequently prescribed.

Cost impact of procalcitonin-guided decision making on duration of antibiotic therapy for suspected early-onset sepsis in neonates

BACKGROUNDS

The large, international, randomized controlled NeoPInS trial showed that procalcitonin (PCT)-guided decision making was superior to standard care in reducing the duration of antibiotic therapy and hospitalization in neonates suspected of early-onset sepsis (EOS), without increased adverse events. This study aimed to perform a cost-minimization study of the NeoPInS trial, comparing health care costs of standard care and PCT-guided decision making based on the NeoPInS algorithm, and to analyze subgroups based on country, risk category and gestational age.

METHODS

Data from the NeoPInS trial in neonates born after 34 weeks of gestational age with suspected EOS in the first 72 h of life requiring antibiotic therapy were used. We performed a cost-minimization study of health care costs, comparing standard care to PCT-guided decision making.

RESULTS

In total, 1489 neonates were included in the study, of which 754 were treated according to PCT-guided decision making and 735 received standard care. Mean health care costs of PCT-guided decision making were not significantly different from costs of standard care (€3649 vs. €3616). Considering subgroups, we found a significant reduction in health care costs of PCT-guided decision making for risk category 'infection unlikely' and for gestational age ≥ 37 weeks in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, and for gestational age < 37 weeks in the Czech Republic.

CONCLUSIONS

Health care costs of PCT-guided decision making of term and late-preterm neonates with suspected EOS are not significantly different from costs of standard care. Significant cost reduction was found for risk category 'infection unlikely,' and is affected by both the price of PCT-testing and (prolonged) hospitalization due to SAEs.

Biomarker-Guided Individualization of Antibiotic Therapy

Treatment failure of antibiotic therapy due to insufficient efficacy or occurrence of toxicity is a major clinical challenge, and is expected to become even more urgent with the global rise of antibiotic resistance. Strategies to optimize treatment in individual patients are therefore of crucial importance. Currently, therapeutic drug monitoring plays an important role in optimizing antibiotic exposure to reduce treatment failure and toxicity. Biomarker-based strategies may be a powerful tool to further quantify and monitor antibiotic treatment response, and reduce variation in treatment response between patients. Host response biomarkers, such as CRP, procalcitonin, IL-6, and presepsin, could potentially carry significant information to be utilized for treatment individualization. To achieve this, the complex interactions among immune system, pathogen, drug, and biomarker need to be better understood and characterized. The purpose of this tutorial is to discuss the use and evidence of currently available biomarker-based approaches to inform antibiotic treatment. To this end, we also included a discussion on how treatment response biomarker data from preclinical, healthy volunteer, and patient-based studies can be further characterized using pharmacometric and system pharmacology based modeling approaches. As an illustrative example of how such modeling strategies can be used, we describe a case study in which we quantitatively characterize procalcitonin dynamics in relation to antibiotic treatments in patients with sepsis.

A Novel Framework for Phenotyping Children With Suspected or Confirmed Infection for Future Biomarker Studies

Background: The limited diagnostic accuracy of biomarkers in children at risk of a serious bacterial infection (SBI) might be due to the imperfect reference standard of SBI. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of a new classification algorithm for biomarker discovery in children at risk of SBI. Methods: We used data from five previously published, prospective observational biomarker discovery studies, which included patients aged 0- <16 years: the Alder Hey emergency department (n = 1,120), Alder Hey pediatric intensive care unit (n = 355), Erasmus emergency department (n = 1,993), Maasstad emergency department (n = 714) and St. Mary's hospital (n = 200) cohorts. Biomarkers including procalcitonin (PCT) (4 cohorts), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin-2 (NGAL) (3 cohorts) and resistin (2 cohorts) were compared for their ability to classify patients according to current standards (dichotomous classification of SBI vs. non-SBI), vs. a proposed PERFORM classification algorithm that assign patients to one of eleven categories. These categories were based on clinical phenotype, test outcomes and C-reactive protein level and accounted for the uncertainty of final diagnosis in many febrile children. The success of the biomarkers was measured by the Area under the receiver operating Curves (AUCs) when they were used individually or in combination. Results: Using the new PERFORM classification system, patients with clinically confident bacterial diagnosis ("definite bacterial" category) had significantly higher levels of PCT, NGAL and resistin compared with those with a clinically confident viral diagnosis ("definite viral" category). Patients with diagnostic uncertainty had biomarker concentrations that varied across the spectrum. AUCs were higher for classification of "definite bacterial" vs. "definite viral" following the PERFORM algorithm than using the "SBI" vs. "non-SBI" classification; summary AUC for PCT was 0.77 (95% CI 0.72-0.82) vs. 0.70 (95% CI 0.65-0.75); for NGAL this was 0.80 (95% CI 0.69-0.91) vs. 0.70 (95% CI 0.58-0.81); for resistin this was 0.68 (95% CI 0.61-0.75) vs. 0.64 (0.58-0.69) The three biomarkers combined had summary AUC of 0.83 (0.77-0.89) for "definite bacterial" vs. "definite viral" infections and 0.71 (0.67-0.74) for "SBI" vs. "non-SBI." Conclusion: Biomarkers of bacterial infection were strongly associated with the diagnostic categories using the PERFORM classification system in five independent cohorts. Our proposed algorithm provides a novel framework for phenotyping children with suspected or confirmed infection for future biomarker studies.

A Procalcitonin and C-Reactive Protein-Guided Clinical Pathway for Reducing Antibiotic Use in Children Hospitalized with Bronchiolitis

Despite the lack of evidence that bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and antibiotics are useful in treating bronchiolitis, their use is still widespread. This study aimed to determine the consumption of antibiotics for bronchiolitis before and after a procalcitonin-guided clinical pathway (CP) implementation. In December 2019, a CP for lower respiratory tract infection management was implemented at the Department of Women's and Children's Health at Padua University Hospital. This was a pre-post, quasi-experimental study that assessed the changes in the treatment of bronchiolitis during two bimesters preceding the CP implementation (pre-period: January 2018-February 2018 and January 2019-February 2019) and during the bimester after CP implementation (post-period January 2020-February 2020). After the CP implementation, there was a significant reduction in antibiotic prescriptions from 36.2% to 12.5% (p = 0.036) in patients hospitalized for bronchiolitis. Co-amoxiclav treatment, the antibiotic most commonly administered, decreased from 66.6% to 33.3%. Among outpatients' bronchiolitis episodes, a statistically significant decrease in beta2-agonists' use (from 18.0% to 4.4%, pre and post periods) and a quasi-significant decrease in corticosteroid use (from 8.0% to 0% pre and post periods) were observed. An evidence-based CP supported by educational lectures was associated with significant changes in the physicians' prescribing habits.

Use of a Procalcitonin-guided Antibiotic Treatment Algorithm in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

BACKGROUND

The utility of procalcitonin testing in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is not known. We sought to determine the impact of a procalcitonin-guided antibiotic treatment algorithm implemented with antibiotic stewardship (AS) guidance vs. usual care on antibiotic use in critically ill children.

METHODS

Single center, pragmatic, randomized prospective clinical trial of critically ill children admitted to an ICU setting and started on intravenous antibiotics from February 15, 2018, to April 11, 2019. Patients were assigned on a monthly basis to either the procalcitonin or usual care arm. The procalcitonin arm had procalcitonin testing on hospital days 0, 1, 2, and 4 and stewardship assistance with algorithm result interpretation. Both arms had routine AS audit and feedback. The primary outcome was median antibiotic days of therapy per patient in the first 14-days after enrollment.

RESULTS

Among 270 patients, 137 were in the procalcitonin arm and 133 in the usual care arm. Antibiotic days of therapy (DOT) were not significantly different between the procalcitonin arm (6.6, IQR: 3.1-10.9) and the usual care arm (7.6, IQR: 3-11.8; P = 0.37). More AS recommendations were made in the procalcitonin vs. control arm (54 vs. 37; P = 0.03). Adherence with algorithm-based antibiotic recommendations was high in the procalcitonin arm (70%).

CONCLUSIONS

We found no difference in antibiotic DOT between study arms. This trial was underpowered but demonstrates feasibility of using a procalcitonin-guided antibiotic treatment algorithm with AS audit and feedback in the PICU.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Routinely Available Biomarkers to Predict Bacteremia in Children With Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Secondary Analysis of the GPIP/ACTIV Pneumonia Study in France, 2009-2018

Objective(s): Blood cultures (BC), when performed in children seen in the emergency department with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), are most of the time sterile. We described the diagnostic accuracy of white blood cells (WBC), absolute neutrophils count (ANC), C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) to predict blood culture (BC) result in childhood CAP. Study Design: Secondary analysis of a prospective study carried out in eight pediatric emergency departments (France, 2009-2018), including children (≤15 years) with CAP. Analyses involved univariate comparisons and ROC curves. Results: We included 13,752 children with CAP. BC was positive in 137 (3.6%) of the 3,829 children (mean age 3.7 years) in whom it was performed, mostly with Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 107). In children with bacteremia, ANC, CRP and PCT levels were higher (median 12,256 vs. 9,251/mm³, 223 vs. 72 mg/L and 8.6 vs. 1.0 ng/mL, respectively; p ≤ 0.002), but WBC levels were not. The area under the ROC curve of PCT (0.73 [95%CI 0.64-0.82]) was significantly higher (p ≤ 0.01) than that of WBC (0.51 [0.43-0.60]) and of ANC (0.55 [0.46-0.64]), but not than that of CRP (0.66 [0.56-0.76]; p = 0.21). CRP and PCT thresholds that provided a sensitivity of at least 90% were 30 mg/L and 0.25 ng/mL, respectively, for a specificity of 25.4 and 23.4%, respectively. CRP and PCT thresholds that provided a specificity of at least 90% were 300 mg/L and 20 ng/mL, respectively, for a sensitivity of 31.3 and 28.9%, respectively. Conclusions: PCT and CRP are the best routinely available predictive biomarkers of bacteremia in childhood CAP.

Safety and Efficacy of C-reactive Protein-guided Antibiotic Use to Treat Acute Respiratory Infections in Tanzanian Children: A Planned Subgroup Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Noninferiority Trial Evaluating a Novel Electronic Clinical Decision Algorithm (ePOCT)

BACKGROUND

The safety and efficacy of using C-reactive protein (CRP) to decide on antibiotic prescription among febrile children at risk of pneumonia has not been tested.

METHODS

This was a randomized (1:1) controlled noninferiority trial in 9 primary care centers in Tanzania (substudy of the ePOCT trial evaluating a novel electronic decision algorithm). Children aged 2-59 months with fever and cough and without life-threatening conditions received an antibiotic based on a CRP-informed strategy (combination of CRP ≥80 mg/L plus age/temperature-corrected tachypnea and/or chest indrawing) or current World Health Organization standard (respiratory rate ≥50 breaths/minute). The primary outcome was clinical failure by day (D) 7; the secondary outcomes were antibiotic prescription at D0, secondary hospitalization, or death by D30.

RESULTS

A total of 1726 children were included (intervention: 868, control: 858; 0.7% lost to follow-up). The proportion of clinical failure by D7 was 2.9% (25/865) in the intervention arm vs 4.8% (41/854) in the control arm (risk difference, -1.9% [95% confidence interval {CI}, -3.7% to -.1%]; risk ratio [RR], 0.60 [95% CI, .37-.98]). Twenty of 865 (2.3%) children in the intervention arm vs 345 of 854 (40.4%) in the control arm received antibiotics at D0 (RR, 0.06 [95% CI, .04-.09]). There were fewer secondary hospitalizations and deaths in the CRP arm: 0.5% (4/865) vs 1.5% (13/854) (RR, 0.30 [95% CI, .10-.93]).

CONCLUSIONS

CRP testing using a cutoff of ≥80 mg/L, integrated into an electronic decision algorithm, was able to improve clinical outcome in children with respiratory infections while substantially reducing antibiotic prescription.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION

NCT02225769.

International Survey on Determinants of Antibiotic Duration and Discontinuation in Pediatric Critically Ill Patients

OBJECTIVES

We hypothesized that antibiotic use in PICUs is based on criteria not always supported by evidence. We aimed to describe determinants of empiric antibiotic use in PICUs in eight different countries.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING

PICUs in Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Thailand, and Brazil.

SUBJECTS

Pediatric intensivists.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

We used literature review and focus groups to develop the survey and its clinical scenarios (pneumonia, septic shock, meningitis, and intra-abdominal infections) in which cultures were unreliable due to antibiotic pretreatment. Data analyses included descriptive statistics and linear regression with bootstrapped SEs. Overall response rate was 39% (482/1,251), with individual country response rates ranging from 25% to 76%. Respondents in all countries prolonged antibiotic duration based on patient characteristics, disease severity, pathogens, and radiologic findings (from a median increase of 1.8 d [95% CI, 0.5-4.0 d] to 9.5 d [95% CI, 8.5-10.5 d]). Younger age, severe disease, and ventilator-associated pneumonia prolonged antibiotic treatment duration despite a lack of evidence for such practices. No variables were reported to shorten treatment duration for all countries. Importantly, more than 39% of respondents would use greater than or equal to 7 days of antibiotics for patients with a positive viral polymerase chain reaction test in all scenarios, except in France for pneumonia (29%), septic shock (13%), and meningitis (6%). The use of elevated levels of inflammatory markers to prolong antibiotic treatment duration varied among different countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Antibiotic-related decisions are complex and may be influenced by cultural and contextual factors. Evidence-based criteria are necessary to guide antibiotic duration and ensure the rational use of antibiotics in PICUs.

[Guidelines for the Management of Community Acquired Pneumonia in Children and Adolescents (Pediatric Community Acquired Pneumonia, pCAP) - Issued under the Responsibility of the German Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (DGPI) and the German Society for Pediatric Pulmonology (GPP)]

The present guideline aims to improve the evidence-based management of children and adolescents with pediatric community-acquired pneumonia (pCAP). Despite a prevalence of approx. 300 cases per 100 000 children per year in Central Europe, mortality is very low. Prevention includes infection control measures and comprehensive immunization. The diagnosis can and should be established clinically by history, physical examination and pulse oximetry, with fever and tachypnea as cardinal features. Additional signs or symptoms such as severely compromised general condition, poor feeding, dehydration, altered consciousness or seizures discriminate subjects with severe pCAP from those with non-severe pCAP. Within an age-dependent spectrum of infectious agents, bacterial etiology cannot be reliably differentiated from viral or mixed infections by currently available biomarkers. Most children and adolescents with non-severe pCAP and oxygen saturation > 92 % can be managed as outpatients without laboratory/microbiology workup or imaging. Anti-infective agents are not generally indicated and can be safely withheld especially in children of young age, with wheeze or other indices suggesting a viral origin. For calculated antibiotic therapy, aminopenicillins are the preferred drug class with comparable efficacy of oral (amoxicillin) and intravenous administration (ampicillin). Follow-up evaluation after 48 - 72 hours is mandatory for the assessment of clinical course, treatment success and potential complications such as parapneumonic pleural effusion or empyema, which may necessitate alternative or add-on therapy.

Procalcitonin Identifies Bacterial Coinfections in Vietnamese Children with Severe Respiratory Syncytial Virus Pneumonia

This study assessed the diagnostic value of interleukin- (IL-) 6, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) in differentiating severe pneumonia caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) alone and RSV with bacterial coinfections among Vietnamese children under 5 years old. A cross-sectional study on 70 children with severe RSV pneumonia was conducted. IL-6, hs-CRP, and PCT tests were performed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was employed to measure the diagnostic values of PCT, IL-6, and hs-CRP. Of 70 children, 11 children were confirmed to have bacterial coinfections. The most common bacterial coinfection was Haemophilus influenzae. This study underlined that inflammatory biomarkers such as PCT had a moderate-to-high capability of disseminating severe pneumonia children with RSV alone or RSV and bacterial coinfections. This may support clinicians in administrating appropriate antibiotics to children suffering from severe RSV pneumonia.

Implementation and impact of pediatric antimicrobial stewardship programs: a systematic scoping review

Background

Antibiotics are the most common medicines prescribed to children in hospitals and the community, with a high proportion of potentially inappropriate use. Antibiotic misuse increases the risk of toxicity, raises healthcare costs, and selection of resistance. The primary aim of this systematic review is to summarize the current state of evidence of the implementation and outcomes of pediatric antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) globally.

Methods

MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched to identify studies reporting on ASP in children aged 0-18 years and conducted in outpatient or in-hospital settings. Three investigators independently reviewed identified articles for inclusion and extracted relevant data.

Results

Of the 41,916 studies screened, 113 were eligible for inclusion in this study. Most of the studies originated in the USA (52.2%), while a minority were conducted in Europe (24.7%) or Asia (17.7%). Seventy-four (65.5%) studies used a before-and-after design, and sixteen (14.1%) were randomized trials. The majority (81.4%) described in-hospital ASPs with half of interventions in mixed pediatric wards and ten (8.8%) in emergency departments. Only sixteen (14.1%) studies focused on the costs of ASPs. Almost all the studies (79.6%) showed a significant reduction in inappropriate prescriptions. Compliance after ASP implementation increased. Sixteen of the included studies quantified cost savings related to the intervention with most of the decreases due to lower rates of drug administration. Seven studies showed an increased susceptibility of the bacteria analysed with a decrease in extended spectrum beta-lactamase producers E. coli and K. pneumoniae; a reduction in the rate of P. aeruginosa carbapenem resistance subsequent to an observed reduction in the rate of antimicrobial days of therapy; and, in two studies set in outpatient setting, an increase in erythromycin-sensitive S. pyogenes following a reduction in the use of macrolides.

Conclusions

Pediatric ASPs have a significant impact on the reduction of targeted and empiric antibiotic use, healthcare costs, and antimicrobial resistance in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Pediatric ASPs are now widely implemented in the USA, but considerable further adaptation is required to facilitate their uptake in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Evaluation of a clinical decision rule to guide antibiotic prescription in children with suspected lower respiratory tract infection in The Netherlands: A stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial

BACKGROUND

Optimising the use of antibiotics is a key component of antibiotic stewardship. Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are the most common reason for antibiotic prescription in children, even though most of these infections in children under 5 years are viral. This study aims to safely reduce antibiotic prescriptions in children under 5 years with suspected lower RTI at the emergency department (ED), by implementing a clinical decision rule.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

In a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial, we included children aged 1-60 months presenting with fever and cough or dyspnoea to 8 EDs in The Netherlands. The EDs were of varying sizes, from diverse geographic and demographic regions, and of different hospital types (tertiary versus general). In the pre-intervention phase, children received usual care, according to the Dutch and NICE guidelines for febrile children. During the intervention phase, a validated clinical prediction model (Feverkidstool) including clinical characteristics and C-reactive protein (CRP) was implemented as a decision rule guiding antibiotic prescription. The intervention was that antibiotics were withheld in children with a low or intermediate predicted risk of bacterial pneumonia (≤10%, based on Feverkidstool). Co-primary outcomes were antibiotic prescription rate and strategy failure. Strategy failure was defined as secondary antibiotic prescriptions or hospitalisations, persistence of fever or oxygen dependency up to day 7, or complications. Hospitals were randomly allocated to 1 sequence of treatment each, using computer randomisation. The trial could not be blinded. We used multilevel logistic regression to estimate the effect of the intervention, clustered by hospital and adjusted for time period, age, sex, season, ill appearance, and fever duration; predicted risk was included in exploratory analysis. We included 999 children (61% male, median age 17 months [IQR 9 to 30]) between 1 January 2016 and 30 September 2018: 597 during the pre-intervention phase and 402 during the intervention phase. Most children (77%) were referred by a general practitioner, and half of children were hospitalised. Intention-to-treat analyses showed that overall antibiotic prescription was not reduced (30% to 25%, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.07 [95% CI 0.57 to 2.01, p = 0.75]); strategy failure reduced from 23% to 16% (aOR 0.53 [95% CI 0.32 to 0.88, p = 0.01]). Exploratory analyses showed that the intervention influenced risk groups differently (p < 0.01), resulting in a reduction in antibiotic prescriptions in low/intermediate-risk children (17% to 6%; aOR 0.31 [95% CI 0.12 to 0.81, p = 0.02]) and a non-significant increase in the high-risk group (47% to 59%; aOR 2.28 [95% CI 0.84 to 6.17, p = 0.09]). Two complications occurred during the trial: 1 admission to the intensive care unit during follow-up and 1 pleural empyema at day 10 (both unrelated to the study intervention). Main limitations of the study were missing CRP values in the pre-intervention phase and a prolonged baseline period due to logistical issues, potentially affecting the power of our study.

CONCLUSIONS

In this multicentre ED study, we observed that a clinical decision rule for childhood pneumonia did not reduce overall antibiotic prescription, but that it was non-inferior to usual care. Exploratory analyses showed fewer strategy failures and that fewer antibiotics were prescribed in low/intermediate-risk children, suggesting improved targeting of antibiotics by the decision rule.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Netherlands Trial Register NTR5326.

American Thoracic Society 2019 Pediatric Core Curriculum

The American Thoracic Society Pediatric Core Curriculum updates clinicians annually in pediatric pulmonary disease in a 3 to 4 year recurring cycle of topics. The 2019 course was presented in May during the Annual International Conference. An American Board of Pediatrics Maintenance of Certification module and a continuing medical education exercise covering the contents of the Core Curriculum can be accessed online at www.thoracic.org.

Challenges in the diagnosis of paediatric pneumonia in intervention field trials: recommendations from a pneumonia field trial working group

Pneumonia is a leading killer of children younger than 5 years despite high vaccination coverage, improved nutrition, and widespread implementation of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses algorithm. Assessing the effect of interventions on childhood pneumonia is challenging because the choice of case definition and surveillance approach can affect the identification of pneumonia substantially. In anticipation of an intervention trial aimed to reduce childhood pneumonia by lowering household air pollution, we created a working group to provide recommendations regarding study design and implementation. We suggest to, first, select a standard case definition that combines acute (≤14 days) respiratory symptoms and signs and general danger signs with ancillary tests (such as chest imaging and pulse oximetry) to improve pneumonia identification; second, to prioritise active hospital-based pneumonia surveillance over passive case finding or home-based surveillance to reduce the risk of non-differential misclassification of pneumonia and, as a result, a reduced effect size in a randomised trial; and, lastly, to consider longitudinal follow-up of children younger than 1 year, as this age group has the highest incidence of severe pneumonia.

Antimicrobial stewardship in children: more shadows than lights?

Introduction: The aim of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes in the pediatric population in improving clinical outcomes, altering prescribing behavior, controlling antimicrobial resistance and measuring the cost-effectiveness.Areas covered: Medline Ovid MEDLINE(R), Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched on 30 September 2018 combining MeSH and free terms for 'antimicrobial stewardship', 'clinical outcomes', 'antimicrobial resistance', 'cost-effectiveness' and 'prescribing behavior'. Several studies have been conducted on the impact of antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASPs) in children, which showed a positive impact on length of hospital stay and days of therapy. Together with ASP bundles, the introduction of fast microbiology and point-of-care tests showed a positive impact in terms of rapid identification of the pathogen, time to optimal antimicrobial therapy and reduction of antibiotic use, without worsening clinical outcomes. These improvements turned out to be limited over time. Conflicting results were observed regarding the impact of ASPs on antimicrobial resistance and on cost-effectiveness and cost-benefits, due to the lack of homogeneity between studies.Expert opinion: Evidence regarding the impact of ASPs in children is limited to single center studies, with different study designs, making it impossible to draw unequivocal conclusions. High quality studies are needed. More feasable approaches should be designed both for inpatients and outpatients and for critical patients.

Clinical Progress Note: Procalcitonin in the Management of Pediatric Lower Respiratory Tract Infection

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker that has shown promise to identify bacterial etiology in acute infections, including bacterial lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). In 2017, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of PCT as a diagnostic aid to guide the decisions around antibiotic therapy in acute LRTI.1 Although most of the data supporting the use of PCT for LRTI stems from adult studies, the high disease burden, predominance of viral etiologies, and frequent diagnostic uncertainty resulting in antibiotic overuse make pediatric LRTI an ideal target for the use of PCT as a diagnostic aid. This review evaluates and summarizes the current evidence regarding the role of PCT in the clinical care of pediatric LRTI, including its use in guiding antibiotic use and prognosticating disease severity.

Agreement Between Two Procalcitonin Assays in Hospitalized Children

INTRODUCTION

Agreement between available procalcitonin (PCT) assays is unclear. We sought to compare concordance between Roche and bioMérieux PCT assays using pediatric samples.

METHODS

We evaluated 213 plasma samples from 208 children. We tested each sample on both the Roche and bioMérieux PCT platforms.

RESULTS

At ranges < 2 μg/L, the Roche platform had a mean negative bias of 0.13 μg/L versus the bioMérieux platform. This bias resulted in PCT levels that crossed accepted cut points in 12.7% of patients.

CONCLUSIONS

PCT levels measured on either platform are similar, especially at PCT ranges used for antibiotic decision-making algorithms.

FUNDING

This work was supported by an investigator-initiated research agreement through bioMérieux and by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Childhood Infection Research Program (ChIRP), National Institute of Health and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institute of Health.