Dataset A. baumannii y2021m07 [54]

Community acquired Acinetobacter baumannii in pediatric patients under 1 year old with a clinical diagnosis of whooping cough in Lima, Peru

Background

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) continue to be the leading cause of children premature mortality in Peru. Although, several pathogens have been involved in ARIs in Peru, data on the epidemiology of A. baumannii and its role in respiratory infections, particularly whooping cough, among pediatric patients is still scarce.

Objective

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of A. baumannii in children aged less than one year admitted with a clinical diagnosis of whooping cough.

Methods

A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in five hospitals in Lima. Patients under 1 year old admitted with a probable clinical diagnosis of whooping cough were included in the study. Nasopharyngeal samples were obtained and the presence of A. baumanii was determined using a PCR assay for the gen OXA-51. An analysis of the demographic and clinical characteristics was performed. Also, an analysis was performed, describing co-infection with other respiratory pathogens previously evaluated.

Results

A total of 225 nasopharyngeal samples from children under 1 year old hospitalized with clinical diagnosis of whooping cough were studied from January 2010 to July 2012. The presence of A. baumanii was detected in 20.89% (47/225) of the nasopharyngeal swab samples. Among the 47 patients with A. baumanii: 5 were diagnosed with A. baumanii monoinfection, 17 co-infection with bacteria, 7 co-infection with virus and 18 co-infection with bacteria + virus. It was observed that 51.6% (116/225) were children between 29 days and 3 months old, this same group had the highest overall prevalence with 53.3%. The most common co-infecting pathogens were Bordetella pertussis in 55.3%, Adenovirus in 42.6% and Mycoplasma pneumoniae in 23.4%.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this is the first report describing the presence of community-acquired A. baumannii in nasopharyngeal samples of children under 1 year old with whooping cough. Co-detection with multiple pathogens is frequent, with up to 6 respiratory infectious agents at the same time, being A. baumannii and B. pertussis co-infection the most prevalent. Further studies are required to determine the role of Acinetobacter baumannii infections in acute respiratory infections in young children, particularly in children with non-critical disease and outside of intensive care units.