# Factors associated with severe bacterial infection in infants between 91- and 120-days old admitted to the pediatric emergency department

## TL;DR

This study identifies clinical and lab factors that help predict severe bacterial infections in infants aged 91-120 days admitted to the emergency department.

## Contribution

The study provides specific cutoff values for body temperature, WBC, and CRP to predict SBI in this age group.

## Key findings

- Male sex, higher body temperature, WBC count, and CRP levels were significant predictors of SBI.
- Cutoff values for predicting SBI were 39.3°C for body temperature, 15,500/µL for WBC, and 14.4 mg/L for CRP.

## Abstract

Diagnosing severe bacterial infections (SBI) can be challenging, especially in infants. This study sought to identify clinical factors that could aid in predicting SBI in infants aged 91–120 days.

This retrospective cohort study investigated febrile infants aged 91-120 days admitted to the pediatric emergency department (PED). This study assessed the significant predictors of clinical and laboratory data for identifying SBI in young infants.

This study analyzed 264 febrile infants aged 91–120 days admitted to the PED. The significant factors for infants with SBI included sex, admission weight, body temperature(BT), white blood cell (WBC) count, neutrophil percentage, and C-reactive protein (CRP) level (all P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that male sex, higher BT, WBC count, and CRP levels were predictors of SBI. ROC analysis identified the useful cutoff values for predicting SBI as a BT of 39.3 °C, WBC counts of 15,500/µL, and a CRP concentration of 14.4 mg/L.

Increased BT, elevated WBC and neutrophil counts, as well as higher CRP levels, may act as predictors of SBI in infants aged 91–120 days admitted to the PED.