ObjectivesTo develop and validate a prediction rule to identify well-appearing febrile infants aged ≤90 days with an abnormal urine dipstick at low risk of invasive bacterial infections (IBIs, bacteraemia or bacterial meningitis).DesignAmbispective, multicentre study.SettingThe derivation set in a single paediatric emergency department (ED) between 2003 and 2017. The validation set in 21 European EDs between December 2017 and November 2019.PatientsTwo sets of well-appearing febrile infants aged ≤90 days with an abnormal urine dipstick (either leucocyte esterase and/or nitrite positive test).Main outcomePrevalence of IBI in low-risk infants according to the RISeuP score.ResultsWe included 662 infants in the derivation set (IBI rate:5.2%). After logistic regression, we developed a score (RISeuP score) including age (≤15 days old), serum procalcitonin (≥0.6 ng/mL) and C reactive protein (≥20 mg/L) as risk factors. The absence of any risk factor had a sensitivity of 96.0% (95% CI 80.5% to 99.3%), a negative predictive value of 99.4% (95% CI 96.4% to 99.9%) and a specificity of 32.9% (95% CI 28.8% to 37.3%) for ruling out an IBI. Applying it in the 449 infants of the validation set (IBI rate 4.9%), sensitivity, negative predictive value and specificity were 100% (95% CI 87.1% to 100%), 100% (95% CI 97.3% to 100%) and 29.7% (95% CI 25.8% to 33.8%), respectively.ConclusionThis prediction rule accurately identified well-appearing febrile infants aged ≤90 days with an abnormal urine dipstick at low risk of IBI. This score can be used to guide initial clinical decision-making in these patients, selecting infants suitable for an outpatient management.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of introducing the Step-by-Step approach on care quality in young febrile infants.DesignObservational study including infants ≤90 days old with fever without source seen in a paediatric emergency department 5 years before (n=1222) and after (n=1151) its introduction. Quality of care was evaluated in terms of adherence to recommendations, resource use and safety.ResultsAdherence: percentages of infants undergoing both urine and blood tests and infants <15 days old receiving full sepsis evaluation increased (84.7% vs 91.0% and 23.9% vs 63.3%, respectively; p<0.01). Resource use: lumbar puncture and admission rates decreased (24.1% vs 18.7% and 43.6% vs 38.3%, respectively; p<0.01), while the rate of antibiotic therapy increased (30.2% vs 43.2%; p<0.01). Safety: the invasive bacterial infection rate among infants managed as outpatients was unchanged (0.7% vs 0.3%; p=0.24).ConclusionThe introduction of the Step-by-Step increased the quality of care provided to young febrile infants.

Introduction: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the leading cause of bacterial infection in infants younger than 3 months of age with fever without a source. Objective: The objective of the study was to analyze the characteristics of emergency department presentations of febrile infants younger than 3 months of age with a UTI and identify risk factors for invasive bacterial infection (IBI) secondary to UTI. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a prospective observational registry that includes infants younger than 3 months with fever without a source managed at a pediatric emergency department between 2003 and 2019. Results: Of the 2850 patients included, 592 (20.8%) were diagnosed with a UTI (524, 88.5%, for Escherichia coli). Infants with UTIs showed significant clinical differences when compared with those not diagnosed with a bacterial infection: patients with a UTI were more likely to have a history of renal/urological problems (8.3% vs. 3.5%), temperature ≥39ºC (38.3% vs. 29%) and poor feeding (13% vs. 8.7%). Yet, nearly half (285 of the 592, 48.1%) of the infants with febrile UTIs had none of these 3 risk factors. Thirty-six infants (6.1%) had a secondary IBI. We identified the following independent risk factors for secondary IBI: infants younger than 1 month of age, parent-reported irritability, procalcitonin >0.5 ng/mL, and C-reactive protein >60 mg/L. Conclusions: History and physical examination do not allow us to safely rule out a UTI among young febrile infants. Age, parent-reported irritability, and biomarkers are useful in identifying patients at increased risk of secondary IBI.

AimManaging febrile infants has evolved without a generally accepted standard of care. We aimed to design quality indicators for managing infants ≤90 days old presenting to emergency departments (EDs) with fever without source.MethodsThis multicentre Delphi study was carried out by the Febrile Infant Study Group of the Spanish Paediatric Emergency Research Network, from March 2021 to November 2021, and included paediatric emergency physicians from 24 Spanish EDs. A list of care standards was produced, following an extensive literature review and the involvement of all parties. Indicators were essential if they were voted by four panelists and also received a score of ≥4 from at least 95% of the 24 investigators.ResultsWe established 20 indicators, including one related to having a protocol, two to triage, nine to diagnostic processes, six to treatment and two to disposition. The following indicators were considered essential: having an ED management protocol, performing urinalysis on every infant, obtaining a blood culture from every infant and administering antibiotics in the ED to any febrile infant who did not appear well.ConclusionThe Delphi method resulted in a comprehensive list of quality indicators for managing febrile young infants in Spanish EDs.