The Pediatric infectious disease journal
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Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. · Aug 2007
Comparative StudyProcalcitonin and C-reactive protein as diagnostic markers of severe bacterial infections in febrile infants and children in the emergency department.
To assess the value of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP), compared with that of total white-blood cell count (WBC) and absolute neutrophil count (ANC), in predicting severe bacterial infections (SBIs) in febrile children admitted to Emergency Department. ⋯ Both PCT and CRP are valuable markers in predicting SBI in children with fever without source and they perform better than WBC and ANC. PCT appears more accurate at the beginning of infections, but overall CRP may be the most convenient marker for its better sensitivity and feasibility.
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Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. · Aug 2007
Pneumococcal bacteremia among infants with fever without known source before and after introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the Basque Country of Spain.
The introduction of vaccination with the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) has produced an important decrease in the incidence of Streptococcus pneumoniae occult bacteremia (OB). In Spain, PCV7 became available in the last months of 2001, but, to date, it has not been included in the official vaccination schedule of the public health system. ⋯ After PCV7 introduction in our area, rates of S. pneumoniae OB caused by vaccine serotypes decreased significantly despite only moderate use of the vaccine in our population.