Table 1.
Patient characteristicsa
| Characteristic | Septic n = 30 |
Febrile Controls n = 30 |
Healthy Controls n = 30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 7.2 (2.4–15.4) | 9.2 (1.8–15.7) | 8.2 (3.5–14.6) |
| Gender, % male | 50 | 40 | 70 |
| Ethnicity, n (%) | |||
| White, non-hispanic | 9 (30) | 8 (27) | 17 (57) |
| Black | 6 (20) | 6 (20) | 4 (13) |
| Hispanic | 14 (47) | 13 (43) | 5 (17) |
| Asian | 0 | 1 (3) | 3 (10) |
| Middle Eastern | 0 | 1 (3) | 0 |
| Indian | 1 (3) | 0 | 0 |
| Other/Unknown | 0 | 1 (3) | 1 (3) |
| Comorbid Conditions, n (%) | |||
| None | 4 (14) | 15 (50) | 3 (10) |
| Asthma | 1 (3) | 0 | 1 (3) |
| Cerebral palsy | 3 (10) | 0 | 0 |
| Malignancy | 16 (53) | 3 (10) | 0 |
| Bone marrow transplant | 5 (17) | 0 | 0 |
| Neutropenia | 13 (43) | 2 (6) | 0 |
| Hematologic (benign) | 1 (3) | 3 (10) | 0 |
| Gastrointestinal | 0 | 0 | 19 (64)b |
| Liver transplant | 2 (6) | 0 | 1 (3) |
| Obstructive sleep apnea | 0 | 0 | 4 (13) |
| Other | 3 (10) | 9 (30) | 2 (7) |
| Type of Infection, n (%) | |||
| Viral | 8 (27)c | 12 (40) | na |
| Bacterial | 16 (53)c,d | 11 (37)c | na |
| Fungal | 1 (3) | 2 (6) | na |
| Unknown | 7 (23)e | 5 (17) | na |
| PIM-2 | 6.8 (1.5–9.6) | 1.0 (0.5–1.6) | 0.8 (0.8–0.9) |
| PELOD, day 1 | 20 (11–21) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) |
| Hospital LOS (days) | 11 (8–18) | 1 (1–4) | 1 (1–1) |
| Hospital mortality, n (%) | 2 (7) | 0 | 0 |
na = not applicable; PIM-2, Pediatric Index of Mortality-2 score; PELOD, Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction score; LOS, length of stay
a
Median values (interquartile range), unless indicated
b
All patients underwent endoscopy for chronic abdominal pain with normal findings
c
2 patients diagnosed with concurrent viral and bacterial infections (influenza A and staphylococcus aureus; respiratory syncytial virus and streptococcus pneumoniae)
d
14/16 septic patients and 6/11 febrile controls had ≥ 1 positive culture for a bacterial pathogen
e
Includes patients with “culture-negative” severe sepsis and septic shock