Epidemiology and Outcomes of Bacterial Coinfection in Hospitalized Children With Respiratory Viral Infections: A Single Center Retrospective Chart Review

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Children with viral respiratory illness are often suspected of having bacterial coinfection. This study was designed to determine the impact of bacterial coinfection on hospital course and outcomes and the rate of antimicrobial misuse. METHODS Single-center retrospective chart review, including all hospitalized children who had a respiratory viral panel sent within 48 hours of admission from January 2015 to December 2019. Patients who had a positive respiratory, urine, blood culture within 24 hours of admission were identified. Demographics, resource utilization, and outcomes were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS This study included 2192 patients. Of those, 269 patients had positive bacterial cultures. Out of these cultures from 192 patients were identified as contaminants. True bacterial coinfection was 3.5% (77/2192). Almost 1/3 of admitted patients were prescribed empiric antimicrobials. Children with bacterial coinfection tended to be younger (median age 8.4 months vs 16.3 months, p < 0.01) and had higher proportion of prematurity (23.3% vs 12.1%, p < 0.01). Children with bacterial coinfection were more likely to require ICU admission (37.6% vs 23.9%, p < 0.01) and intubation (28.5% vs 5.3 %, p < 0.01). They had higher ICU (5.7 days vs 1.9 days, p < 0.01) and hospital length of stay (4.0 days vs 2.0 days, p < 0.01), higher mortality (2.6% vs 0.2%, p = 0.02), and a higher median cost of hospital care ($3774.44 vs $2424.49.90, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The rate of bacterial coinfection in hospitalized children with viral infections is very low, which contradicts the routine administration of empiric antimicrobials. Patients with coinfection require more hospital resources and have worse clinical outcomes.