SARS-CoV-2 Among Infants <90 Days of Age Admitted for Serious Bacterial Infection Evaluation.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in infants hospitalized for a serious bacterial infection (SBI) evaluation and clinically characterize young infants with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was conducted on infants <90 days of age hospitalized for an SBI evaluation. The study was conducted at 4 inpatient facilities in New York City from March 15, 2020, to December 15, 2020.

RESULTS

We identified 148 SBI evaluation infants who met inclusion criteria. A total of 22 infants (15%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by nasopharyngeal reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; 31% of infants admitted during periods of high community SARS-CoV-2 circulation tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, compared with 3% when community SARS-CoV-2 circulation was low ( < .001). The mean age of infants with SARS-CoV-2 was higher than that of SARS-CoV-2-negative infants (33 [SD: 17] days vs 23 [SD: 23] days, respectively; = .03), although no age difference was observed when analysis was limited only to febrile infants. An isolated fever was the most common presentation of SARS-CoV-2 ( = 13; 59%). Admitted infants with SARS-CoV-2 were less likely to have positive urine culture results ( = 1 [5%] versus = 25 [20%], respectively; = .002), positive cerebrospinal culture results ( = 0 [0%] versus = 5 [4%], respectively; = .02), or be admitted to intensive care ( = 2 [9%] versus = 47 [37%]; < .001), compared with infants without SARS-CoV-2.

CONCLUSIONS

SARS-CoV-2 was common among young infants hospitalized for an SBI evaluation during periods of high but not low community SARS-CoV-2 circulation in New York City, although most infants did not require intensive care admission.