Table 1.
Principal Syndromes Among Intracranial GAS Infectionsa
| Principal Intracranial Syndrome (No. of Cases) | Other Syndrome(s) (n) | Age (Range [Median]) | Antibiotics Administered (n) | No. (%) of Deathsb | emm Types (n)c |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meningitis (35) | STSS (4); septic arthritis (1); septic shock (1) | 4 days-14 years (2.5 years) | Third-generation cephalosporins (21); vancomycin (19); ampicillin (7) | 6 (17) | 1 (10), 12 (4), 89 (3), 4 (2), 28 (2), 118 (2), 9, 11, 49, 59, 77, 87, 122, unknown (5) |
| ENT infection (34a) (acute otitis media, sinusitis, mastoiditis) | STSS (2); septic arthritis (2); septic shock (1) | 46 days-15 years (8.6 years) | Third-generation cephalosporins (28); vancomycin (26) | 3 (9) | 1 (9), 6 (4), 5 (2), 12 (2), 3, 4, 18, 59, 75, 118, unknown (11) |
| VP shunt infection (14) | STSS (1) | 30 days-10 years (4.6 years) | Third-generation cephalosporins (9); vancomycin (13) | 0 (0) | 12 (3), 28 (2), 1, 2, 3, 11, 44, 75, 86, unknown (2) |
Abbreviations: ENT, ear, nose, and throat; GAS, group A Streptococcus; STSS, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome; VP, ventriculoperitoneal.
a
Of a total of 83 patients, which includes children for whom presenting symptoms were available and 2 children for whom presenting symptoms were not available but who had mastoiditis noted in the chart. A supplemental questionnaire was not completed for 8 children; therefore, a determination of principal intracranial syndrome could not be made.
b
Five children who died could not be classified because no information on their symptoms was available.
c
For emm types without a number in parentheses, only 1 isolate with that emm type was found