Epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales in US children, 2016–2020

Abstract

Background: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infections Program conducts active laboratory- and population-based surveillance for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) and extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E). To better understand the U.S. epidemiology of these organisms among children, we determined the incidence of pediatric CRE and ESBL-E cases and described their clinical characteristics. Methods: Surveillance was conducted among children <18 years of age for CRE from 2016–2020 in 10 sites, and for ESBL-E from 2019–2020 in 6 sites. Among catchment-area residents, an incident CRE case was defined as the first isolation of Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae complex, Klebsiella aerogenes, K. oxytoca, or K. pneumoniae in a 30-day period resistant to ≥1 carbapenem from a normally sterile site or urine. An incident ESBL-E case was defined as the first isolation of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, or K. oxytoca in a 30-day period resistant to any third-generation cephalosporin and non-resistant to all carbapenems from a normally sterile site or urine. Case records were reviewed. Results: Among 159 CRE cases, 131 (82.9%) were isolated from urine and 19 (12.0%) from blood; median age was 5 years (IQR 1–10) and 94 (59.1%) were female. Combined CRE incidence rate per 100,000 population by year ranged from 0.47 to 0.87. Among 207 ESBL-E cases, 160 (94.7%) were isolated from urine and 6 (3.6%) from blood; median age was 6 years (IQR 2–15) and 165 (79.7%) were female. Annual ESBL incidence rate per 100,000 population was 26.5 in 2019 and 19.63 in 2020. Incidence rates of CRE and ESBL-E were >2-fold higher in infants (children <1 year) than other age groups. Among those with data available, CRE cases were more likely than ESBL-E cases to have underlying conditions (99/158 [62.7%] versus 59/169 [34.9%], P<0.0001), prior healthcare exposures (74/158 [46.8%] versus 38/169 [22.5%], P<0.0001), and be hospitalized for any reason around time of their culture collection (75/158 [47.5%] versus 38/169 [22.5%], P<0.0001); median duration of admission was 18 days [IQR 3–103] for CRE versus 10 days [IQR 4–43] for ESBL-E. Urinary tract infection was the most frequent infection for CRE (89/158 [56.3%]) and ESBL-E (125/169 [74.0%]) cases. Conclusion: CRE infections occurred less frequently than ESBL-infections in U.S. children but were more often associated with healthcare risk factors and hospitalization. Infants had highest incidence of CRE and ESBL-E. Continued surveillance, infection prevention and control efforts, and antibiotic stewardship outside and within pediatric care are needed