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Published on: August 12, 2020
Serious bacterial infections in neonates: improving reporting and case definitions
Stefania Vergnano1, Anna C Seale2,3, Elizabeth J A Fitchett2
1Paediatric Infectious Disease Research Group, Department of Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, Jenner wing, London, UK.
Insights
Standardizing reporting criteria for serious bacterial infections in neonates is crucial for accurate burden estimation. This progress aids in understanding neonatal infection impact and guides intervention investments.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Health
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health Surveillance
Background:
- Neonatal infections impact millions globally, causing significant mortality.
- Accurate estimation of serious bacterial infections in neonates is hindered by varied reporting criteria.
- Recent publications offer standardized definitions and reporting guidelines.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the need for standardized reporting criteria for serious neonatal bacterial infections.
- To emphasize the importance of comparable data for understanding disease burden.
- To support improved investment in neonatal interventions.
Main Methods:
- Review of recently published essential criteria for reporting serious neonatal bacterial infections (STROBE-NI checklist).
- Consideration of definitions established by the Brighton Collaboration's GAIA project for maternal vaccination contexts.
- Emphasis on the principle of data standardization for comparability.
Main Results:
- Standardized reporting criteria, such as STROBE-NI, have been developed.
- Established definitions exist for serious bacterial infections in neonates, particularly in relation to maternal vaccination.
- Standardization is identified as essential for data comparability.
Conclusions:
- Standardized reporting criteria are vital for accurately assessing the burden of serious bacterial infections in neonates.
- Improved data comparability is a significant step towards a clearer understanding of neonatal infection impact.
- Progress in standardization will guide future investments in effective interventions for neonatal infections.
Abstract:
Neonatal infections affect about 7 million neonates causing over 600 000 deaths every year. Estimating the burden is challenging as there are multiple reporting criteria and definitions for serious bacterial infections in neonates. Essential criteria for reporting serious neonatal bacterial infections have recently been published as the STROBE-NI checklist and, in the context of maternal vaccination, definitions have been published by the Brighton Collaboration Global Alignment of Immunization safety Assessment in pregnancy (GAIA) project. Standardisation of reporting criteria is essential to allow data comparability. This an important step in providing a clearer picture of the burden of serious bacterial infections in neonates and a welcome progress for guiding new investments in interventions.
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