Low recurrence with shortened IV abx course in GBS bacteremia

(HealthDay)—For infants with uncomplicated, late-onset group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteremia, a shortened intravenous (IV) course of antibiotic therapy is sometimes prescribed and is associated with low rates of disease recurrence and treatment failure, according to a study published online Oct. 11 in Pediatrics.

Eric R. Coon, M.D., from the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, and colleagues conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study of infants aged 7 days to 4 months who were admitted to children's hospitals with GBS bacteremia. They analyzed the primary outcome of readmission for GBS bacteremia, meningitis, or osteomyelitis in the first year of life for those receiving shortened and prolonged IV antibiotic courses.

The researchers found that 79 and 21 percent of the 775 infants who were diagnosed with uncomplicated, late-onset GBS bacteremia received a prolonged IV course and a shortened course, respectively. There was variation in the rates of treatment with shortened IV courses by hospital (range, 0 to 67 percent). GBS recurrence occurred in 1.8 and 2.3 percent of patients in the shortened and prolonged IV duration groups, respectively (adjusted absolute risk difference, −0.2 percent; 95 percent confidence interval, −3 to 2.5 percent).

"Despite recommendations to treat uncomplicated, late-onset group B Streptococcus bacteremia with prolonged IV antibiotic therapy, shortened courses are prescribed, with low rates of disease recurrence and treatment failure," the authors write.

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