Dr. Pruitt acknowledged certain limitations of the study, including its retrospective design, that the outcomes were limited to 30 days, and the fact that the findings may not be generalizable to nontertiary settings. “Our findings have important implications for the care of infants with invasive bacterial infections,” he concluded. “In particular, the high rate of adverse outcomes for infants with bacterial meningitis can provide some context for clinicians in assessing the need for diagnostic evaluation for invasive bacterial infection and discussing testing and treatment with parents. Our findings may also help to inform inpatient management for hospitalized infants with invasive bacterial infections, as well as anticipatory guidance for parents, particularly around follow-up. Further prospective studies evaluating the long-term outcomes of infants with invasive bacterial infections are needed.”
The study was supported in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Pruitt reported having no financial disclosures.