OBJECTIVETo study the clinical characteristics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA)-positive children in the pediatric intensive care unit, and to provide a basis for early diagnosis and reasonable treatment of PA infection.

METHODSThe clinical data of 62 children infected with PA in the pediatric intensive care unit were retrospectively reviewed,including age, affected organs, fever duration, hospital stay duration, mechanical ventilation duration, prognosis, underlying diseases, mortality, culture results and drug sensitivity test results.

RESULTSOf the 62 PA-positive children, 25 (40%) were aged under 6 months and 47 (76%) under 2 years, with a median age of 28.8 months. Twenty-seven showed one positive result for sputum culture or endotracheal tube aspirates culture, 3 showed one positive result for blood culture, and 32 showed more than two positive results for blood, sputum or endotracheal tube aspirates cultures. On average, 2.8 organs were affected in each patient, with the respiratory system involved most frequently (58 patients, 94%). The mean fever duration was 7.3 days and the mean hospital stay duration was 34.2 days. In the 62 patients, 35 (57%) were cured and 17 (27%) died. Mechanical ventilation was administered to 51 patients (82%) for a mean duration of 13.4 days. Fifty-one patients (82%) had underlying diseases. The 17 (27%) children who died had a mean age of 17.4 months and a mean CRP level of 52.6 mg/L; 14 of them had increased or normal white blood cell count, and 3 had a decreased white blood cell count.The antibiotic sensitivity of PA was 72.6% for cefoperazone/sulbactam, 70.8% for meropenem, 49.1% for imipenem, 65.1% for ceftazidime, and 44.3% for piperacillin/tazobactam. There was complete resistance to cephazolin, cefuroxime and cefotaxime.

CONCLUSIONSThe children under 2 years are prone to PA infection. Respiratory system involvements are common. Most of children infected with PA suffer from underlying diseases.The sensitivity of PA to common antibiotics is not high.