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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">Front. Med.</journal-id>
<journal-title>Frontiers in Medicine</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="pubmed">Front. Med.</abbrev-journal-title>
<issn pub-type="epub">2296-858X</issn>
<publisher>
<publisher-name>Frontiers Media S.A.</publisher-name>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.3389/fmed.2025.1597371</article-id>
<article-categories>
<subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
<subject>Medicine</subject>
<subj-group>
<subject>Original Research</subject>
</subj-group>
</subj-group>
</article-categories>
<title-group>
<article-title>Clinical characteristics and prognosis of non-typhoidal <italic>Salmonella</italic> bacteremia in children vs. adults: a retrospective study</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name><surname>Su</surname> <given-names>Jianwei</given-names></name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"><sup>1</sup></xref>
<uri xlink:href="https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/3011227/overview"/>
<role content-type="https://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/writing-original-draft/"/>
<role content-type="https://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/data-curation/"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name><surname>Zhong</surname> <given-names>Wanping</given-names></name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"><sup>1</sup></xref>
<role content-type="https://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/investigation/"/>
<role content-type="https://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/data-curation/"/>
<role content-type="https://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/writing-review-editing/"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name><surname>Liang</surname> <given-names>Baofang</given-names></name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2"><sup>2</sup></xref>
<role content-type="https://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/writing-review-editing/"/>
<role content-type="https://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/validation/"/>
<role content-type="https://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/formal-analysis/"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes">
<name><surname>Wang</surname> <given-names>Yanhong</given-names></name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"><sup>1</sup></xref>
<xref ref-type="corresp" rid="c001"><sup>&#x002A;</sup></xref>
<role content-type="https://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/visualization/"/>
<role content-type="https://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/project-administration/"/>
<role content-type="https://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/methodology/"/>
<role content-type="https://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/writing-review-editing/"/>
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</contrib-group>
<aff id="aff1"><sup>1</sup><institution>Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Dongguan Tungwah Hospital</institution>, <addr-line>Dongguan</addr-line>, <country>China</country></aff>
<aff id="aff2"><sup>2</sup><institution>Department of Healthcare-associated Infection Management, The Tenth Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University (Dongguan People's Hospital)</institution>, <addr-line>Dongguan</addr-line>, <country>China</country></aff>
<author-notes>
<fn fn-type="edited-by" id="fn0001">
<p>Edited by: Shisan Bao, The University of Sydney, Australia</p>
</fn>
<fn fn-type="edited-by" id="fn0002">
<p>Reviewed by: Babak Pakbin, Texas A&#x0026;M University, United States</p>
<p>Arryn Craney, Petrified Bugs LLC, United States</p>
</fn>
<corresp id="c001">&#x002A;Correspondence: Yanhong Wang, <email>1594653364@qq.com</email></corresp>
</author-notes>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>26</day>
<month>06</month>
<year>2025</year>
</pub-date>
<pub-date pub-type="collection">
<year>2025</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>12</volume>
<elocation-id>1597371</elocation-id>
<history>
<date date-type="received">
<day>21</day>
<month>03</month>
<year>2025</year>
</date>
<date date-type="accepted">
<day>11</day>
<month>06</month>
<year>2025</year>
</date>
</history>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright &#x00A9; 2025 Su, Zhong, Liang and Wang.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2025</copyright-year>
<copyright-holder>Su, Zhong, Liang and Wang</copyright-holder>
<license xlink:href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">
<p>This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.</p>
</license>
</permissions>
<abstract>
<sec id="sec1">
<title>Background</title>
<p>Several studies have reported the clinical characteristics of non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) bacteremia in children and adults. However, there is a lack of data that directly compares the clinical characteristics and prognosis in children vs. adults.</p>
</sec>
<sec id="sec2">
<title>Methods</title>
<p>A retrospective study was conducted on bloodstream infections caused by NTS in hospitalized patients from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2024. The clinical and relevant laboratory data of patients between adult and pediatric groups were compared, and the risk factors predicting the duration of antibiotic treatment were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression.</p>
</sec>
<sec id="sec3">
<title>Results</title>
<p>In total, 52 patients with NTS bloodstream infection met the eligibility criteria, with 28 (53.8%) being children vs. 24 (46.2%) adults. Respiratory infections are the most concomitant diseases (children 78.6% vs. adults 50.0%, <italic>p</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.031). More than half of pediatric patients isolated NTS from their stool (children 57.1% vs. adults 20.8%, <italic>p</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.008). The duration of antibiotic treatment in children is significantly lower than that in adults {8 children (6.5, 10.5) vs. 15 adults (7.25, 21.25), <italic>p</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.002}; however there is no significant difference in mortality rates. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that children (OR&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.209, 95% CI: 0.058&#x202F;~&#x202F;0.751, <italic>p</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.016) had a shorter course of antibiotic treatment.</p>
</sec>
<sec id="sec4">
<title>Conclusion</title>
<p>A shorter course of antibiotic treatment was observed in pediatric patients; however, due to its biases and limitations, further prospective randomized controlled trials are needed to generalize our findings.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>
<kwd-group>
<kwd>non-typhoidal <italic>Salmonella</italic></kwd>
<kwd>bacteremia</kwd>
<kwd>clinical characteristics</kwd>
<kwd>hematological parameters</kwd>
<kwd>children</kwd>
</kwd-group>
<counts>
<fig-count count="0"/>
<table-count count="4"/>
<equation-count count="0"/>
<ref-count count="27"/>
<page-count count="6"/>
<word-count count="3733"/>
</counts>
<custom-meta-wrap>
<custom-meta>
<meta-name>section-at-acceptance</meta-name>
<meta-value>Infectious Diseases: Pathogenesis and Therapy</meta-value>
</custom-meta>
</custom-meta-wrap>
</article-meta>
</front>
<body>
<sec sec-type="intro" id="sec5">
<title>Introduction</title>
<p>Non-typhoidal <italic>Salmonella</italic> (NTS) is an important pathogen of gastrointestinal disease globally. Its clinical manifestations are complex and primarily cause infectious diarrhea (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">1</xref>). Although the symptoms of intestinal infection caused by NTS infection are typically self-limiting and can recover without treatment, bacteremia can occur in approximately 5 to 9% of patients, such as infants, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2 ref3 ref4">2&#x2013;4</xref>).</p>
<p>NTS can be transmitted to humans through various pathways, including the consumption of undercooked meat, products contaminated with animal excrement, contact with animals or their environment, and contaminated water (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>). NTS gastroenteritis is typically believed to be obtained from animal hosts; however, the relative roles of animal hosts and human-to-human transmission of iNTS disease-causing strains remain unclear (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>).</p>
<p>Most pediatric patients recover within 1&#x202F;week; however, adult patients may exhibit differences due to varying underlying diseases (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref7">7</xref>). Some studies have reported on the clinical characteristics and changes in hematological parameters among children; however, there is a rare comparative analysis of the clinical characteristics of bacteremia between children and adults (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref8">8</xref>, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref9">9</xref>).</p>
<p>In this study, we included patients diagnosed with NTS bloodstream infection who met the established inclusion and exclusion criteria. We aim to provide supportive evidence for the clinical management of NTS bloodstream infection by comparing the clinical characteristics at baseline and antibiotic use among different age groups.</p>
</sec>
<sec sec-type="methods" id="sec6">
<title>Methods</title>
<sec id="sec7">
<title>Study design and population</title>
<p>This was a single-center, retrospective study at Dongguan Tungwah Hospital that included inpatients with NTS bloodstream infection from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2024. The diagnosis of bloodstream infection must meet at least one of the following criteria: (1) NTS was cultured from one or more blood cultures, and the organism cultured from blood is not related to an infection at another site. (2) The patient has clinical evidence of infection, including fever (&#x003E; 38&#x00B0;C), chills, or hypotension (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref10">10</xref>). All data were collected from the electronic medical records. Patients with hematological malignancies who had abnormal hematological parameters due to treatment or disease were excluded.</p>
</sec>
<sec id="sec8">
<title>Microbiological and hematological tests</title>
<p>All blood samples were sent to the microbiology laboratory of our hospital for culture, strain identification and <italic>in vitro</italic> drug sensitivity test. Based on the recommendation of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, ceftriaxone, and azithromycin were used for the <italic>in vitro</italic> sensitivity test (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref11">11</xref>). Hematological parameters including white blood cell (WBC) count, percentage of neutrophils (NEU%), percentage of lymphocytes (LYM%), and percentage of eosinophils (EOS%) were recorded in the laboratory database.</p>
</sec>
<sec id="sec9">
<title>Research outcomes</title>
<p>The primary outcome was the antibiotic treatment days in children and adults, and the sensitivity of non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) was further explored.</p>
</sec>
<sec id="sec10">
<title>Definition of related variables</title>
<p>Community-acquired bacteremia was defined as bacteremia that develops in a patient prior to admission, or a positive blood culture obtained within 48&#x202F;h of hospital admission. The pediatric population was defined as patients aged 16&#x202F;years or less. The duration of antimicrobial treatment was defined as the total length of time that NTS-susceptible antimicrobial agents were administered in the treatment of NTS bloodstream infection, including the duration of empirical antimicrobial treatment prior to the reporting of susceptibility culture results. The time for rechecking hematological indicators is defined as more than 3&#x202F;days of standardized treatment with sensitive antibiotics but less than 5&#x202F;days. The severity of bacteremia was assessed using the Pitt bacteremia score (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref12">12</xref>). Patient comorbidities were assessed using the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref13">13</xref>).</p>
</sec>
<sec id="sec11">
<title>Statistical analysis</title>
<p>SPSS 22 software was used for statistical analysis of the data, and the counting data was expressed in percentage through the chi-square test. Measurement data conforming to normal distribution were expressed as mean &#x00B1; standard deviation and compared by an independent sample <italic>t-test</italic>. The comparison of abnormal distribution data adopted the Mann&#x2013;Whitney U-test and is expressed as M(P25, P75). A <italic>p</italic>-value of &#x003C;0.05 indicates a statistically significant difference.</p>
</sec>
</sec>
<sec sec-type="results" id="sec12">
<title>Results</title>
<sec id="sec13">
<title>Patients&#x2019; clinical characteristics and clinical outcomes</title>
<p>A total of 52 patients with NTS bloodstream infection were enrolled from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2024, and the flow chart illustrating the study inclusion process is shown in <xref ref-type="supplementary-material" rid="SM1">Supplementary Figure S1</xref>. There were 28 patients (53.8%) in the children group and 24 patients (46.2%) in the adult group. The majority of patients were predominantly male (33/52, 63.5%), and the median age in the children group was 1&#x202F;year old or less, compared to the adult group of 58.5&#x202F;years. Fever (children: 100.0%, adults: 87.5%) and abdominal discomfort (children: 75.0%, adults: 58.3%) are the main clinical symptoms, and community-acquired infections account for a high proportion of NTS bloodstream infections. Respiratory diseases are the most common comorbidities account in children (children 78.6% vs. adults 50.0%, <italic>p</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.031), followed by acute enteritis (children 53.6% vs. adults 45.8%, <italic>p</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.578); however, cerebrovascular disease and malignancy were significantly more prevalent in adults (<italic>p</italic>&#x003C;0.05). Compared with the adult group, the children group had a significantly higher positive rate from stool (children: 57.1% vs. adults: 20.8%, <italic>p</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.008) and a lower duration of antibiotic therapy (median 8&#x202F;days; IQR, 6.5&#x2013;10.5 vs. median 15&#x202F;days; IQR, 7.25&#x2013;21.25, <italic>p</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.002), but the mortality rate was not revealed significantly different. (shown in <xref ref-type="table" rid="tab1">Table 1</xref>) There were significant differences in hematological parameters, including NEU%, LYM%, and EOS% between the two groups. In addition, the comparison of hematological parameters before and after treatment showed that the percentage of eosinophils increased significantly after treatment (<xref ref-type="supplementary-material" rid="SM1">Supplementary Table S1</xref>; <xref ref-type="supplementary-material" rid="SM1">Supplementary Figures S2, S3</xref>).</p>
<table-wrap position="float" id="tab1">
<label>Table 1</label>
<caption>
<p>Clinical features of patients with NTS bloodstream infection.</p>
</caption>
<table frame="hsides" rules="groups">
<thead>
<tr>
<th align="left" valign="top">Characteristic</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">NTS-children (<italic>n</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;28)</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">NTS-adults (<italic>n</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;24)</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">
<italic>Z/&#x03C7;<sup>2</sup></italic>
</th>
<th align="center" valign="top"><italic>p</italic>-value</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Age, mean years (P25, P75)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">1 (1, 1)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">58.50 (46.75, 66.50)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">&#x2212;6.496</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.000</bold></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">3&#x2013;12&#x202F;months, <italic>n</italic> (%)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">24 (85.7)</td>
<td/>
<td/>
<td/>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">&#x003C;1&#x2013;5&#x202F;years, <italic>n</italic> (%)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">4 (14.3)</td>
<td/>
<td/>
<td/>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Male, <italic>n</italic> (%)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">17 (60.7)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">16 (66.7)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.197</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.657</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Community-acquired, <italic>n</italic> (%)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">27 (96.4)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">21 (87.5)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.466</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.495</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" colspan="5">Underlying diseases, <italic>n</italic> (%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Respiratory disease</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">22 (78.6)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">12 (50.0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">4.661</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.031</bold></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Acute enteritis</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">15 (53.6)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">11 (45.8)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.310</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.578</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Malignancy</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">0 (0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">5 (20.8)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">4.279</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.039</bold></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Cardiovascular disease</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">0 (0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">6 (25.0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">5.653</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.017</bold></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Vascular ulcer</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">0 (0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">4 (16.7)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">2.981</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.084</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" colspan="5">Possible sources of bacteremia, <italic>n</italic> (%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Stool</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">16 (57.1)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">5 (20.8)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">7.077</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.008</bold></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Urine</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">0 (0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">1 (4.2)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">0.006</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.938</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Pus</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">0 (0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">3 (12.5)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">1.771</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.183</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" colspan="5">Symptoms and signs, <italic>n</italic> (%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Fever (T&#x202F;&#x2265;&#x202F;38&#x00B0;C)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">28 (100)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">21 (87.5)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">1.771</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.183</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Nausea and vomiting</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">7 (25.0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">7 (29.2)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">0.114</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.736</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Diarrhea and abdominal pain</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">21 (75.0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">14 (58.3)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">1.631</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.202</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" colspan="5">Hematological parameters, <italic>n</italic> (%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">WBC (&#x2265;12&#x202F;&#x00D7;&#x202F;10<sup>9</sup>/L)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">11 (39.3)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">11 (45.8)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">0.227</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.634</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">NEU% (&#x2264;75%)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">27 (96.4)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">3 (12.5)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">37.295</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.000</bold></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">NEU% (&#x2264;40%)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">15 (53.6)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">1 (4.2)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">14.808</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.000</bold></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">LYM% (&#x2264;50%)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">14 (50.0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">23 (95.8)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">13.226</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.000</bold></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">LYM% (&#x2264;20%)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">3 (10.7)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">22 (91.7)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">33.926</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.000</bold></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">EOS% (&#x2264;0.5%)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">14 (50.0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">18 (75.0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">3.413</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.065</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Antibiotic course day (P25, P75)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">8 (6.5, 10.5)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">15 (7.25, 21.25)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">&#x2212;3.093</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.002</bold></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">30-day all-cause mortality</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">0 (0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">2 (8.3)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">0.696</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.404</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table-wrap-foot>
<p>WBC, white blood cell count; NEU%, neutrophil ratio; LYM%, lymphocyte ratio; EOS%, eosinophil ratio.</p>
<p>Data are presented as No. (%) unless otherwise indicated. <italic>p</italic>-values in bold are statistically significant.</p>
</table-wrap-foot>
</table-wrap>
</sec>
<sec id="sec14">
<title>Patients&#x2019;clinical characteristics and antibiotic course day&#x2264;10&#x202F;days</title>
<p>In the univariate analysis, although cardiovascular disease and malignant tumors did not show significant differences in shorter antibiotic treatment courses (antibiotic course day&#x2264;10&#x202F;days), the CCI score suggests that higher scores have a significant impact on longer antibiotic use courses (antibiotic course&#x003E;10&#x202F;days) (OR&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.792, 95% CI:0.638&#x202F;~&#x202F;0.985, <italic>p</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.036). (<xref ref-type="table" rid="tab2">Table 2</xref>) In the multivariate analysis for the factors significantly associated with antibiotic course day&#x2264;10&#x202F;days, children indicated significant correlations with shorter antibiotic treatment courses (OR&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.209, 95% CI: 0.058&#x202F;~&#x202F;0.751, <italic>p</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.016). CCI did not show a significant difference in the impact on the short-term course of antibiotic use (OR&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.864, 95% CI: 0.685&#x202F;~&#x202F;1.091, <italic>p</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.220). (<xref ref-type="table" rid="tab3">Table 3</xref>).</p>
<table-wrap position="float" id="tab2">
<label>Table 2</label>
<caption>
<p>Univariate analysis of the factors associated with the antibiotic course day.</p>
</caption>
<table frame="hsides" rules="groups">
<thead>
<tr>
<th align="left" valign="top">Variables</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">Antibiotic course day&#x2264;10&#x202F;days, <italic>n</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;31 (%)</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">Antibiotic course day&#x003E;10&#x202F;days, <italic>n</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;21 (%)</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">OR</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">95% CI</th>
<th align="center" valign="top"><italic>p-</italic>value</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Children</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">22 (70.9)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">6 (28.5)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.164</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.048&#x2013;0.556</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.004</bold></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" colspan="6">Underlying diseases</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Respiratory disease</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">21 (67.7)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">13 (61.9)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">1.292</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.406&#x2013;4.117</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.664</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Acute enteritis</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">16 (51.6)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">10 (47.6)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">1.173</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.387&#x2013;3.556</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.778</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Malignancy</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">3 (9.6)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">2 (9.5)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">1.018</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.155&#x2013;6.682</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.985</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Cardiovascular disease</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">2 (6.4)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">4 (19.0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.293</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.048&#x2013;1.773</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.181</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" colspan="6">Possible sources of bacteremia</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Stool</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">13 (41.9)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">8 (38.0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">1.174</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.378&#x2013;3.645</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.782</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Urine</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">1 (3.2)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0 (0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">-</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">-</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Pus</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0 (0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">3 (14.2)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">-</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">-</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.999</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Pitt</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">1.3&#x202F;&#x00B1;&#x202F;0.5</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">1.3&#x202F;&#x00B1;&#x202F;0.8</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.923</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.389&#x2013;2.190</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.855</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">CCI</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">1.3&#x202F;&#x00B1;&#x202F;2.6</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">3.0&#x202F;&#x00B1;&#x202F;2.7</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.792</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.638&#x2013;0.985</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.036</bold></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table-wrap-foot>
<p><italic>p</italic>-values in bold are statistically significant.</p>
</table-wrap-foot>
</table-wrap>
<table-wrap position="float" id="tab3">
<label>Table 3</label>
<caption>
<p>Multivariate analyses of the factors associated with antibiotic course day.</p>
</caption>
<table frame="hsides" rules="groups">
<thead>
<tr>
<th align="left" valign="top">Variables</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">Antibiotic course day&#x2264;10&#x202F;days, <italic>n</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;31 (%)</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">Antibiotic course day&#x003E;10&#x202F;days, <italic>n</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;21 (%)</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">OR</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">95% CI</th>
<th align="center" valign="top"><italic>p</italic>-value</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Children</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">22 (70.9)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">6 (28.5)</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.209</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.058&#x2013;0.751</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.016</bold></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">CCI</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">1.3&#x202F;&#x00B1;&#x202F;2.6</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">3.0&#x202F;&#x00B1;&#x202F;2.7</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.864</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.685&#x2013;1.091</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.220</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table-wrap-foot>
<p><italic>p</italic>-values in bold are statistically significant.</p>
</table-wrap-foot>
</table-wrap>
</sec>
<sec id="sec15">
<title>Antibiotic sensitivity of NTS between children and adults</title>
<p>There was no significant difference in the sensitivity of NTS between children and adults for first-line therapeutic drugs (<xref ref-type="table" rid="tab4">Table 4</xref>). All the first-line therapeutic drug sensitivity of the adult group was higher than that of the children group, and the cases of multi-drug resistance in the children group were significantly higher than the adult group (children 42.9% vs. adults 16.7%, <italic>p</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;0.041).</p>
<table-wrap position="float" id="tab4">
<label>Table 4</label>
<caption>
<p>Sensitivity rates of NTS to antimicrobial agents (<italic>n</italic>, %).</p>
</caption>
<table frame="hsides" rules="groups">
<thead>
<tr>
<th align="left" valign="top">Antimicrobial agent</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">Total (<italic>n</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;52)</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">Children (<italic>n</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;28)</th>
<th align="center" valign="top">Adults (<italic>n</italic>&#x202F;=&#x202F;24)</th>
<th align="center" valign="top"><italic>&#x03C7;<sup>2</sup></italic></th>
<th align="center" valign="top"><italic>p</italic>-value</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Ciprofloxacin</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">24 (46.2)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">11 (39.3)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">13 (54.2)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">1.152</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.283</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">SMZ-TMP</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">37 (71.2)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">17 (60.7)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">20 (83.3)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">3.221</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.073</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Ceftriaxone</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">43 (82.7)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">22 (78.6)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">21 (87.5)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">0.231</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.631</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Ampicillin</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">26 (50.0)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">13 (46.4)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">13 (54.2)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">0.310</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.578</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Chloromycetin</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">35 (67.3)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">16 (57.1)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">19 (79.2)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">2.849</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.091</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Azithromycin</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">37 (71.2)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">18 (64.3)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">19 (79.2)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">1.394</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">0.238</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">MDR</td>
<td align="center" valign="top">16 (30.8)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">12 (42.9)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">4 (16.7)</td>
<td align="center" valign="middle">4.161</td>
<td align="center" valign="top"><bold>0.041</bold></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table-wrap-foot>
<p>SMZ-TMP, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim; MDR, multidrug resistance.</p>
<p>Data are presented as No. (%) unless otherwise indicated. <italic>p</italic>-values in bold are statistically significant.</p>
</table-wrap-foot>
</table-wrap>
</sec>
</sec>
<sec sec-type="discussion" id="sec16">
<title>Discussion</title>
<p>In this retrospective observational study, the antibiotic treatment course in the children group is significantly shorter than the adult group (children median, 8&#x202F;days vs. adult median, 15&#x202F;days), and CCI has a certain impact on the course of antibiotic use.</p>
<p>Currently, there is no universally agreed-upon optimal duration for the antibiotic treatment of NTS bacteremia. Most expert consensus suggests administering appropriate antibiotics for a period of 7 to 14&#x202F;days, with an extension to 14&#x202F;days recommended for patients with immunodeficiency (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref14 ref15 ref16">14&#x2013;16</xref>). Some studies conducted on pediatric patients (aged over 1&#x202F;year, with no focal extra-intestinal infections) have indicated that short-course therapy (lasting less than 10&#x202F;days) is non-inferior to prolonged treatment in terms of clinical cure rate, with no metastatic complications or recurrent disease observed up to 12&#x202F;months post-treatment (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref17">17</xref>, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref18">18</xref>). Dhanoa et al. (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4">4</xref>) included 55 patients with NTS bacteremia and found no significant difference in the duration of hospitalization between patients with and without severe immunosuppression; the average duration of hospital stay was 9&#x202F;days. Megged et al. (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref19">19</xref>) conducted a retrospective analysis of 137 patients with NTS bacteremia and compared the clinical characteristics of adults and children. They found that children had higher rates of prior discharge from the emergency department, a higher rate of gastrointestinal symptoms, and a better prognosis.</p>
<p>Due to the significant physiological differences between pediatric and adult populations, there are notable variations in hematological parameters, particularly for children under 1&#x202F;year of age (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref20 ref21 ref22">20&#x2013;22</xref>). Previous studies indicated that more than half of NTS-infected patients, whether children or adults, have normal or low white blood cell levels (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4">4</xref>, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref23">23</xref>), which is consistent with our research results. The decrease in white blood cells and eosinophils in hematological parameters is considered to be related to the immune response characteristics between <italic>Salmonella</italic> and the host. During the acute phase of <italic>Salmonella</italic> infection, the bacteria can evade the innate immune response of the intestine without inducing significant neutrophil aggregation and chemotaxis (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref24">24</xref>, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref25">25</xref>). Before treatment, over half of the eosinophils in both the adult and children&#x2019;s groups were below the normal value of EOS% (&#x2264;0.5%), but following treatment, the eosinophil levels significantly increased with notable differences. (<xref ref-type="supplementary-material" rid="SM1">Supplementary Table S1</xref>).</p>
<p>In drug-sensitive testing, the sensitivity of traditional agents to NTS among children is generally lower than adults, but there is no significant difference. Ceftriaxone, azithromycin, and SMZ-TMP maintained high sensitivity in both the pediatric and adult groups, consistent with the first-line treatment plan for NTS recommended by experts (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref26">26</xref>). It is worth noting that the number of MDR cases in the children&#x2019;s group is significantly higher than in adults, with a significant statistical difference. In this situation, these first-line antimicrobials have become less effective for some patients, particularly children who are not suitable for quinolones. Other alternative drugs, such as cefoperazone/sulbactam, piperacillin/tazobactam, and imipenem, have shown very high sensitivity to NTS, providing a meaningful choice for the treatment of NTS with MDR (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref27">27</xref>).</p>
<p>Given the special nature of retrospective analysis, a major limitation of the present study was that it was retrospective with a small sample size and the lack of unified reference standards for hematological parameters in children under 1&#x202F;year old. Moreover, adult patients were more likely to be accompanied by chronic diseases such as respiratory, cardiovascular diseases, or malignancies, which may cause bias in the statistical results of the course of antibiotic use.</p>
</sec>
<sec sec-type="conclusions" id="sec17">
<title>Conclusion</title>
<p>Our study demonstrates that pediatric patients may consider receiving a shorter course of antibiotics compared to adult patients, and eosinophils can serve as important hematological indicators for predicting NTS infection across all age groups.</p>
</sec>
</body>
<back>
<sec sec-type="data-availability" id="sec18">
<title>Data availability statement</title>
<p>The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/<xref ref-type="supplementary-material" rid="SM1">Supplementary material</xref>, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.</p>
</sec>
<sec sec-type="ethics-statement" id="sec19">
<title>Ethics statement</title>
<p>The studies involving humans were approved by the Ethics Committee of Dongguan Tungwah Hospital. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The human samples used in this study were acquired from this study was retrospective and the study participants were anonymized. The Ethics Committee of Dongguan Tungwah Hospital approved the study with the exemption of the requirement for informed consent. Written informed consent for participation was not required from the participants or the participants&#x2019; legal guardians/next of kin in accordance with the national legislation and institutional requirements.</p>
</sec>
<sec sec-type="author-contributions" id="sec20">
<title>Author contributions</title>
<p>JS: Writing &#x2013; original draft, Data curation. WZ: Investigation, Data curation, Writing &#x2013; review &#x0026; editing. BL: Writing &#x2013; review &#x0026; editing, Validation, Formal analysis. YW: Visualization, Project administration, Methodology, Writing &#x2013; review &#x0026; editing, Supervision.</p>
</sec>
<sec sec-type="funding-information" id="sec21">
<title>Funding</title>
<p>The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article.</p>
</sec>
<sec sec-type="COI-statement" id="sec22">
<title>Conflict of interest</title>
<p>The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.</p>
</sec>
<sec sec-type="ai-statement" id="sec23">
<title>Generative AI statement</title>
<p>The authors declare that no Gen AI was used in the creation of this manuscript.</p>
</sec>
<sec sec-type="disclaimer" id="sec24">
<title>Publisher&#x2019;s note</title>
<p>All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.</p>
</sec>
<sec sec-type="supplementary-material" id="sec25">
<title>Supplementary material</title>
<p>The Supplementary material for this article can be found online at: <ext-link xlink:href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1597371/full#supplementary-material" ext-link-type="uri">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1597371/full#supplementary-material</ext-link></p>
<supplementary-material xlink:href="Data_Sheet_1.docx" id="SM1" mimetype="application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
</sec>
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