[Current status of antibiotic therapy for Staphylococcus aureus sepsis in children]

To investigate the current status of empirical antibiotic therapy for children with Staphylococcus aureus sepsis and the effect of therapeutic paradigm on prognosis based on a retrospective analysis.

A total of 78 children with Staphylococcus aureus sepsis who were admitted from January 2014 to August 2017 were enrolled. According to the preferred empirical antibiotics before the detection of Staphylococcus aureus by blood culture, these children were divided into a carbapenem group with 16 children, a β-lactam group with 37 children, a vancomycin group with 15 children and a vancomycin+β-lactam group with 10 children. A retrospective analysis was performed for related clinical data including general status, underlying diseases, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score, history of use of immunosuppressant, drug resistance to methicillin and prognosis. A logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the effect of empirical antibiotic therapy on the clinical outcome and prognosis of children with Staphylococcus aureus sepsis.

There were no significant differences among these groups in general status, underlying diseases, history of use of immunosuppressant, APACHE II score, nosocomial infection and detection rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (P>0.05). There were significant differences in the incidence rate of septic shock and in-hospital mortality among these four groups (P<0.05). The carbapenem group had the highest incidence rate of septic shock and in-hospital mortality (69% and 50% respectively). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that empirical antibiotic therapy with different antibiotics had different risks for septic shock and in-hospital death in children with Staphylococcus aureus sepsis (P<0.05), and that an APACHE II score of ≥15 was an independent risk factor for septic shock in these children (P<0.05). The carbapenem group had significantly higher risks of septic shock and in-hospital death than the vancomycin group (P<0.05).

Inappropriate empirical use of antibiotics may lead to a poor prognosis in children with Staphylococcus aureus sepsis. Empirical use of carbapenems is not recommended for children suspected of Staphylococcus aureus sepsis.