Bacteremia in Febrile Children With Sickle Cell Anemia

Investigators from the University of Alabama at Birmingham conducted a retrospective observational study to identify predictors of bacteremia and readmission in febrile children with sickle cell anemia (SCA). Patients with SCA who were <18 years old and presented to the study ED between 1999–2016 with a temperature of ≥101°F were eligible. The standard of care at the study ED during the study period was to obtain a complete blood count and blood culture prior to administering a dose of antibiotics, with hospital admission being at the discretion of the treating physician, except for SCA patients with fever and an abnormal chest x-ray (who were always admitted per study ED policy). Patients with an abnormal chest x-ray were therefore excluded from the study. Investigators abstracted demographics, laboratory results, and presenting …