Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
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Clin. Microbiol. Infect. · Jul 2019
Changes in the incidence and bacterial aetiology of paediatric parapneumonic pleural effusions/empyema in Germany, 2010-2017: a nationwide surveillance study.
Parapneumonic pleural effusions/empyema (PPE/PE) are severe complications of community-acquired pneumonia. We investigated the bacterial aetiology and incidence of paediatric PPE/PE in Germany after the introduction of universal pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) immunization for infants. ⋯ In the era of widespread PCV immunization, cases of paediatric PPE/PE were still caused mainly by S. pneumoniae and, increasingly, by S. pyogenes. The re-increase in the incidence of PPE/PE overall and in S. pneumoniae-associated PPE/PE indicates ongoing changes in the bacterial aetiology and requires further surveillance.