Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia in Children and Adolescents with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

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Abstract
Episodes (37) of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) in children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were analyzed. Twenty-five were associated with an identifiable source of infection: pneumonia (9), cellulitis (11), osteomyelitis (2), ear infection (2) and urinary tract infection (1). The absolute neutrophil count was < 1000/mm3 at the onset of 29 episodes. Six paients had a bacterial re-infection after the treatment for SAB was stopped. Five patients had fungal infection discovered at autopsy. Seven patients died within 4 days of admission. Gram-negative superinfection occurred in 6 patients treated with multiple antibiotics; no patient among those treated with a single antibiotic developed superinfection. This was not a statistically significant difference.