Shortened Antibiotic Course in Late-Onset GBS Bacteremia

Investigators from the University of Utah and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine the effect of an IV antibiotic course for uncomplicated, late-onset group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteremia that was shorter than the recommended 10 days. The cohort was identified using the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database, which provides demographic, billing, and administrative data for patients cared for at 49 US children’s hospitals. PHIS patients were eligible for inclusion in study analyses if they were 7 days to 4 months of age and were discharged from a PHIS hospital between 2000 and 2015 with an ICD-9 discharge diagnosis code for GBS disease and bacteremia. Patient demographics and medical history (eg, history of prematurity, other infections) …