We review here 7 cases of neonatal transfusion-associated babesiosis at a NICU in the northeast United States. Transfusion from 2 infected units of blood resulted in the 7 cases described. The clinical presentation was highly variable in this cohort; the extremely low birth weight neonates were the most severely affected. Antibiotic therapy was effective in neonates with mild and asymptomatic infection; however, double-volume exchange blood transfusion with prolonged multidrug treatment was required for the 2 most severe cases. The risk of Babesia microti infection is not eliminated through current blood-bank practices. Neonatologists in endemic areas should have a high index of suspicion for babesiosis in premature infants exposed to blood transfusions.
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October 2011
Case Reports|
October 01 2011
Clinical Presentation and Treatment of Transfusion-Associated Babesiosis in Premature Infants
Kari A. Simonsen, MD;
aPediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska;
Address correspondence to Kari A. Simonsen, MD, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 982162 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-2162. E-mail: kasimonsen@unmc.edu
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Joseph I. Harwell, MD;
Joseph I. Harwell, MD
bAdult and Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island; and
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Shabnam Lainwala, MD
Shabnam Lainwala, MD
cNeonatology, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, Connecticut
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Address correspondence to Kari A. Simonsen, MD, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 982162 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-2162. E-mail: kasimonsen@unmc.edu
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The authors have indicated they have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.
Pediatrics (2011) 128 (4): e1019–e1024.
Article history
Accepted:
May 10 2011
Citation
Kari A. Simonsen, Joseph I. Harwell, Shabnam Lainwala; Clinical Presentation and Treatment of Transfusion-Associated Babesiosis in Premature Infants. Pediatrics October 2011; 128 (4): e1019–e1024. 10.1542/peds.2010-0502
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