Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia in children below the age of one year. A review of 407 cases.

The bacteriology, epidemiology, infection types and mortality were reviewed in 407 cases of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia in the period 1967-1984 in children less than one year old. The number of bacteraemia cases in this age group increased in the seventies, but only 4% of the bacteraemias seemed to be due to epidemic spreading. Neonates might be at higher risk for S. aureus bacteraemia than older children less than one year old, and nearly all infections in the neonatal period were hospital-acquired. The mortality was 24%, and did not correlate with type of infection, but in neonates it correlated with low birthweight.