Prospective Surveillance of Pediatric Invasive Group A<i>Streptococcus</i>Infection

Abstract

We found considerable short- and longer-term morbidity associated with pediatric invasive GAS disease in our study. Disease manifestations were frequently severe, and more than one-third of the patients required cardiorespiratory support. More than one-half of the patients attended a medical practitioner for assessment but were discharged in the 48-hour period before admission, which suggests that there might have been a window for earlier diagnosis. Our methodology was easy to implement as a surveillance system.