Serotypeº1 [corrected] childhood invasive pneumococcal disease has unique characteristics compared to disease caused by other streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes.

BACKGROUND

We aimed to determine whether serotype 1 (SP1) invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) can be distinguished by demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics from IPD caused by the other most common serotypes (MCS) in our region: 5, 14, 6A, 6B, 19A, 19F, 23F.

METHODS

Data for all IPD episodes in children <18 years old treated at the Soroka University Medical Center during 2000 to 2009 were retrospectively retrieved. Episodes caused by SP1-IPD were compared with those caused by MCS-IPD (both grouped and individual serotypes). Analyses were adjusted for age and ethnicity.

RESULTS

Ninety-four SP1-IPD and 250 MCS-IPD episodes were documented. SP1-IPD cases were older (68.3 ± 52.6 months versus 30.4 ± 39.2 months; P < 0.001) and more likely to be found in Bedouin children than MCS-IPD (87.5% versus 58.6%; P < 0.001). SP1 was less frequently isolated from patients with underlying disease than MCS (14.9% versus 31.6 %; P < 0.001; relative risk 0.15 [95% confidence interval: 0.07-0.32]). SP1 was more often associated with bacteremic pneumonia and primary peritonitis than MCS (66% versus 38.4% and 7.4% versus 0.8%, respectively; P < 0.001); the proportion of bacteremia without focus was higher in MCS-IPD (32.4% versus 12.5%; P < 0.001). There were no differences in hospitalization and mortality rates (70.2% versus 68.0% [P = 0.22] and 4.3% versus 5.6% [P = 0.26], respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

SP1 was found less frequently than MCS in children with underlying diseases, but it was more frequent in older and Bedouin children with IPD. SP1 was more frequently associated with bacteremic pneumonia and primary peritonitis than MCS grouped.