Incidence of Serious Bacterial Infections in Febrile Children With Sickle Cell Disease

Objective. To determine the incidence of serious bacterial infections in febrile children with sickle cell disease and to describe the outcomes of children discharged from the pediatric emergency department. Methods. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 188 febrile patients with sickle cell disease presenting to our pediatric emergency department over a 10-year period. Serious bacterial infection was defined as bacteremia, meningitis, urinary tract infection, osteomyelitis, or pneumonia. Results. Our overall incidence rate for serious bacterial infections was 16.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 10.8% to 21.2%). Pneumonia had the highest incidence rate of 13.8% (95% CI = 8.8% to 18.8%). This was followed by bacteremia and urinary tract infections, both with incidence rates of 1.1% (95% CI = 0.0% to 2.5%). We had no cases of meningitis or osteomyelitis in our study group. Conclusion. We had an incidence of 16.0% for serious bacterial infections in febrile children with sickle cell disease, with the majority of patients diagnosed with pneumonia.