Abstract
Forty-four patients with SCD (39 SS and 5 SC disease), aged ≤ 5 yrs (mean 28 ± 17 mths) were hospitalized for 140 febrile episodes (temperature ≥ 38.4°C.) from Jan. 1978 to July 1983. All received continuous oral penicillin prophylaxis (OPP) from time of diagnosis and polyvalent pneumococcal vaccine (PPV) at 2 yrs of age. At least 2 blood cultures were obtained from all patients during hospitalization. All patients (except those with temperature < 38.9°C and vaso-occlusive syndrome-VOS) were treated with IV ampicillin for a minimum of 48-72 hrs. VOS accounted for 52 episodes (37%) (37 abdominal crises; 12 hand-foot syndrome and 3 aseptic necrosis of bones); fever of unknown cause in 18 episodes (13%) and fever with an infectious source in 70 episodes (50%). There were 28 episodes of pneumonia, 16 otitis media, 13 URI, 5 pharyngitis, 4 UTI, 1 osteomyelitis. The 6 episodes of bacteremia were associated with temperature ≥ 39.8°C. The blood-stream isolates were Streptococcus pneumoniea (2), Haemophilus influenzae, type b (1), Group B salmonella sp (1), Klebsiella sp (1), and Staphlococcus aureus (1). The 2 patients with pneumococcal bacteremia (age 16 and 22 mths) were non-compliant with OPP and had not received PPV because of their age. All patients responded to treatment and recovered from the febrile episode. The low incidence of pneumococcal bacteremia (2 cases per 147 patient-years) may be attributable to OPP and/or PPV.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Karayalcin, G., Rubin, L., Chung, D. et al. FEVER IN INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN WITH SICKLE CELL DISEASE (SCD). Pediatr Res 18 (Suppl 4), 242 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-00895
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-00895