Impact of infection by verotoxigenic Escherichia coli O157:H7 on the use of surgical services in a children's hospital
Cimolai, N.; Blair, G.K.; Murphy, J.J.; Fraser, G.G.
Canadian Journal of Surgery. Journal Canadien de Chirurgie 40(1): 28-32
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0008-428X PMID: 9030080 Document Number: 473724
To determine the impact of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection in children on the need for surgical assessment in a pediatric surgical practice and whether clinical and bacteriologic variables might contribute to that need. Examination of a case series. A tertiary-care pediatric hospital. Between 1990 and 1994, E. coli O157:H7 gastrointestinal infections were documented among 85 children, 29 of whom suffered from hemolytic-uremic syndrome. Surgical consultation for presumed or proven complications of the infection. The frequency of and reasons for surgical consultation, clinical and bacteriologic variables between patients who did or did not require surgical assessment. Of the 85 children, 17 (20%) were assessed by the surgical service. The majority of these children were inpatients. Two required abdominal surgery. Female gender, older age and progression to hemolytic-uremic syndrome were factors associated in univariate analyses with a likelihood of need for surgical assessment; variation in bacterial genotype was not. There is the potential for verotoxigenic E. coli O157:H7 infection to have a considerable impact on the utilization of pediatric surgical services.