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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), through its Evidence-Based Practice Centers (EPCs), sponsors the development of evidence reports and technology assessments to assist public- and private-sector organizations in their efforts to improve the quality of health care in the United States. This report was requested and funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration. The reports and assessments provide organizations with comprehensive, science-based information on common, costly medical conditions and new health care technologies. The EPCs systematically review the relevant scientific literature on topics assigned to them by AHRQ and conduct additional analyses when appropriate prior to developing their reports and assessments.
To bring the broadest range of experts into the development of evidence reports and health technology assessments, AHRQ encourages the EPCs to form partnerships and enter into collaborations with other medical and research organizations. The EPCs work with these partner organizations to ensure that the evidence reports and technology assessments they produce will become building blocks for health care quality improvement projects throughout the Nation. The reports undergo peer review prior to their release.
AHRQ expects that the EPC evidence reports and technology assessments will inform individual health plans, providers, and purchasers as well as the health care system as a whole by providing important information to help improve health care quality.
We welcome comments on this evidence report. They may be sent by mail to the Task Order Officer named below at: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD 20850, or by e-mail to epc@ahrq.gov.
Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D.
Director
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Elizabeth M. Duke, Ph.D.
Administrator
Health Resources and Services Administration
Jean Slutsky, P.A., M.S.P.H.
Director, Center for Outcomes and Evidence
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Beth A. Collins Sharp, Ph.D., R.N.
Director, EPC Program
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Sally Phillips, Ph.D., R.N.
Task Order Officer
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
We thank Emilee Wilhelm for her help with article retrieval and Corinna Haberland for her assistance with translations.
Objectives. To systematically review the literature about children with anthrax to describe their clinical course, treatment responses, and the predictors of disease progression and mortality.
Data Sources. MEDLINE® (1966-2005), 14 selected journal indexes (1900-1966) and bibliographies of all retrieved articles.
Review Methods. We sought case reports of pediatric anthrax published between 1900 and 2005 meeting predefined criteria. We abstracted three types of data from the English-language reports: (1) patient information (e.g., age, gender, nationality); (2) symptom and disease progression information (e.g., whether the patient developed meningitis); and (3) treatment information (e.g., treatments received, year of treatment). We compared the clinical symptoms and disease progression variables for the pediatric cases with data on adult anthrax cases reviewed previously.
Results. We identified 246 titles of potentially relevant articles from our MEDLINE® search and 2253 additional references from our manual search of the bibliographies of retrieved articles and the indexes of the 14 selected journals. We included 62 case reports of pediatric anthrax including two inhalational cases, 20 gastrointestinal cases, 37 cutaneous cases, and three atypical cases. Anthrax is a relatively common and historically well-recognized disease and yet rarely reported among children, suggesting the possibility of significant under-diagnosis, under-reporting, and/or publication bias. Children with anthrax present with a wide range of clinical signs and symptoms, which differ somewhat from the presenting features of adults with anthrax. Like adults, children with gastrointestinal anthrax have two distinct clinical presentations: upper tract disease characterized by dysphagia and oropharyngeal findings and lower tract disease characterized by fever, abdominal pain, and nausea and vomiting. Additionally, children with inhalational disease may have “atypical” presentations including primary meningoencephalitis. Children with inhalational anthrax have abnormal chest roentgenograms; however, children with other forms of anthrax usually have normal roentgenograms. Nineteen of the 30 children (63%) who received penicillin-based antibiotics survived; whereas nine of 11 children (82%) who received anthrax antiserum survived.
Conclusions. There is a broad spectrum of clinical signs and symptoms associated with pediatric anthrax. The limited data available regarding disease progression and treatment responses for children infected with anthrax suggest some differences from adult populations. Preparedness planning efforts should specifically address the needs of pediatric victims.
In response to the 2001 U.S. anthrax attack, there has been a proliferation of guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with anthrax. However, most of these have not specified screening and management protocols for specific populations, such as children. Efforts to prepare for and respond to future attacks of anthrax bioterrorism will be aided by detailed information about the clinical presentation and treatment responses of both adult and pediatric populations exposed to anthrax.
We performed a systematic review of case reports of pediatric anthrax to describe the clinical course, treatment responses, and predictors of disease progression and mortality for children with anthrax infection. In addition to cases of inhalational, gastrointestinal, and cutaneous anthrax, we included in our analysis case reports of primary anthrax meningoencephalitis (without an identifiable inhalational, gastrointestinal, or cutaneous source).
We sought to synthesize the data from English-language case reports of children with anthrax to answer three key research questions:
What is the evidence for an age-dependent clinical course associated with anthrax?
How effective are antibiotic prophylaxis and treatment for anthrax in children compared to adults? Similarly, how effective are other medical treatments in children compared to adults (e.g. ventilator/respiratory support)?
Based on the review of evidence for Questions 1 and 2, what are the implications for children versus adults in terms of preparedness and response planning for anthrax exposure (i.e., healthcare provider education on diagnosis and management, considerations for hospitals, vaccination strategies)?
We sought English-language case reports of patients aged 18 years or younger with confirmed inhalational, gastrointestinal, or atypical anthrax (e.g., primary anthrax meningoencephalitis without an identifiable inhalational or cutaneous source). Because there have been hundreds of case reports of pediatric cutaneous anthrax, we selected a random sample of 50 English-language case reports of pediatric cutaneous anthrax for abstraction. We then augmented the data abstracted from the English-language pediatric case reports with the data available from our prior Evidence Report on adult cases of inhalational anthrax. Given key physiological differences among infants, toddlers, and adolescents, we analyzed case reports in three age groups: 0 to 2 years, >2 to 13 years, and >13 to 18 years.
We identified case reports of pediatric anthrax referenced in MEDLINE® between January 1966 and June 2005 using the MeSH terms anthrax and case report. We then performed additional comprehensive searches of retrieved bibliographies and the indexes of selected journals from 1900 to 1966 (e.g., New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Lancet, Medical Journal of Australia, La Presse Médicale, Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift, La Semana Medicale). We also performed extensive manual searches of retrieved bibliographies.
Two investigators screened potentially relevant articles to determine whether they met inclusion criteria. One investigator independently abstracted patient data from each included case report and reviewed bibliographies for additional potentially relevant studies. Because the purpose of this project was to characterize the spectrum of pediatric anthrax disease as well as to identify the differences in disease progression and treatment responses of adults and children with anthrax, we abstracted three primary types of data from each included article: (1) patient information (e.g., age, gender); (2) symptom and clinical course information (e.g., whether the patient developed meningitis); and (3) treatment information.
We performed univariate analyses to summarize the key patient and treatment characteristics. We applied a Bonferroni correction to account for multiple comparisons.
We identified 246 titles of potentially relevant articles from our MEDLINE® search and 2253 additional references from our manual search of the bibliographies of retrieved articles and the indexes of the 14 selected journals. We identified 62 case reports of pediatric anthrax including two inhalational cases, 20 gastrointestinal cases, 37 cutaneous cases, and three atypical cases. Most of the included cases were of adolescents: we found seven cases of children aged 0 to 2 years old, 22 cases of children more than 2 years to 13 years old, and 34 cases of adolescents aged more than 13 years to 18 years old. We did not find any reports of anthrax in pregnant women or reports of prenatal cases of anthrax.
Among the 59 case reports which stated the patient's gender, only 14 (24%) were girls. This is similar to the gender discrepancy observed among adults. Several plausible explanations for this gender disparity include that anthrax has largely been an occupational disease among professions traditionally dominated by men and boys (e.g., woolsorters and butchers) and that there may be biases that result in the under-diagnosis and under-reporting of girls with anthrax.
Overall, the mortality rate was 31%. Among patients who received antibiotics, 71% survived compared to 82% of patients who received antiserum. Only one patient was treated with a fluroquinolone—a key component of the current treatment guidelines for anthrax. None of the included patients received anthrax vaccine.
Inhalational anthrax occurs when anthrax spores are inhaled into the lung. There is insufficient evidence available from the two English- and three foreign-language case reports of pediatric anthrax to classify the typical presentation of inhalational anthrax or treatment responses or to compare them to adults with inhalational disease. In particular, we have very little information about inhalational anthrax in infants or toddlers. However, the evidence that is available on pediatric inhalation anthrax does provide us with four key observations.
Among adults, inhalational anthrax presents with a prodromal phase (often described as flu-like) for whom the most common symptoms or findings at admission are abnormal temperature, abnormal lung findings, fever or chills, tachycardia, fatigue or malaise, cough, dyspnea, and nausea or vomiting. Notably, these symptoms are typically accompanied by nonheadache neurological symptoms such as dizziness, visual changes, and syncope, which are not typical of routine influenza infection. The three children for whom we have signs and symptom data were found to have dyspnea and abnormal lung exams; however, none had either nonheadache neurological symptoms or nausea or vomiting. This suggests that screening algorithms based on adult findings may have less diagnostic accuracy for children presenting with inhalational anthrax.
Adult patients typically have abnormal chest roentgenograms characterized by pleural effusions or widened mediastinum. Both of the pediatric patients with inhalational anthrax who had chest roentgenograms were found to have similar abnormalities.
Prior to the introduction of antibiotics, anthrax infection was primarily treated with anti-serum, which reportedly decreased mortality by 75% compared to untreated patients. Later, effective antibiotics such as penicillin and chloramphenicol were added to anthrax treatment strategies. Current treatment guidelines for inhalational in children vary among different professional organizations; however, most recommend triple intravenous antibiotics with ciprofloxacin or doxycycline with two other antibiotics such as clindamycin, rifampin, penicillin, among others. Among adult patients, nearly all of those not given antibiotics or anthrax anti-serum during the prodromal phase progress to the fulminant phase which is a characterized by a rapidly progressive critical illness with respiratory failure, shock. Regardless of antibiotic/anti-serum therapy or other medical intervention such as mechanical ventilation, the overall mortality rate in fulminant phase is 97%. Similarly, the child who received antibiotic treatment during the fulminant phase died. The two children who survived inhalational anthrax were treated with antiserum—a treatment not typically included in current treatment guidelines or bioterrorism preparedness inventories.
In adults, pleural fluid drainage has been significantly associated with survival after the development of fulminant inhalational anthrax. Only one child with inhalational anthrax received pleural fluid drainage and she survived.
Gastrointestinal anthrax results from the ingestion of B. anthracis spores leading to the infection (and often ulceration) of the gastrointestinal epithelium. We found 20 English-language case reports of pediatric gastrointestinal anthrax—most of them were associated with known outbreaks, typically resulting from the consumption of contaminated meat. The average age of these patients was 10.5 years (four children were ≤ 2 years old, eight children were >2 to 13 years old; and eight children were >13 to 18 years old). Five were girls and none of the cases were from the U.S. The literature on pediatric gastrointestinal anthrax provides four key results.
Compared to inhalational and cutaneous disease, gastrointestingal anthrax is considered quite rare among adults, especially in the U.S. However, among children, there have been more case reports of gastrointestinal disease than inhalational disease. Clearly, children are susceptible to gastrointestinal anthrax from agricultural sources—whether they would be more or less likely to present with primary gastrointestinal disease after a bioterrorism event is not known.
Historically, gastrointestinal anthrax has been recognized as presenting in two forms: oropharyngeal disease among patients in whom the site of infection is the upper gastrointestinal tract and intestinal disease among patients in whom the site of infection is the lower gastrointestinal tract. Like adults, children seem to have two presentations of gastrointestinal anthrax: upper tract disease characterized by dysphagia and oropharyngeal findings and lower tract disease characterized by fever, abdominal pain, and nausea and vomiting.
Of the four patients with gastrointestinal anthrax who had roentgenograms, two were found to have pulmonary abnormalities, one patient had “ascites but no other abnormalities,” and one had a normal examination. From the limited evidence, we cannot determine whether roentgenograms contributed significantly to the early diagnosis of pediatric gastrointestinal anthrax.
The mortality rate for treated gastrointestinal anthrax among adults is generally reported as approximately 40%. However, the children with gastrointestinal anthrax (both treated and untreated) had a somewhat higher case-fatality rate (63%). Among the children with gastrointestinal disease who died, many had developed meningoencephalitis, presumably as a result of hematologic dissemination.
Cutaneous anthrax has long been recognized as an occupational hazard for adults handling contaminated animal products who introduce B. anthracis spores into the skin through cuts, abrasions, or insect bites. It is reported to account for more than 95% of clinical anthrax disease. We randomly selected 50 English-language case reports of children with cutaneous anthrax. Of these, only 37 provided sufficient information about individual patients to be included in our analysis. In general, even the included reports of pediatric cutaneous anthrax were of very poor quality, often providing only a few sentences about the patient and their clinical course (and rarely even describing the skin lesions in detail). The reports of these 37 children with cutaneous anthrax provide three key findings.
Historically, cutaneous anthrax usually begins with a small, painless, pruritic papule on an exposed area. This lesion enlarges and becomes an oval eschar surrounded by vesicles with marked, painless brawny edema and tissue necrosis. The skin lesions described for children are similar to the classical skin lesions described for adults.
Only seven of the included pediatric cutaneous cases were girls (the gender was unreported for three cases). This male predominance is similar to what has been observed among adults and may represent the relatively higher risk of occupational exposures among boys and men or under-diagnosis or under-treatment of girls with anthrax.
Among adults, untreated cutaneous anthrax has been associated with a 5 to 20% case fatality rate (presumably from hematologic dissemination of disease) but is rarely fatal when treated. Only five children died (13.5% case fatality rate) which falls within the range of adult case fatality rates. All of these were boys, three of whom had not received antibiotics. One child developed meningoencephalitis before he died.
Historically, anthrax has been classified according to the three principal exposures: inhalational, gastrointestinal, and cutaneous. Although rare, atypical anthrax presentations do occur among adults including laryngopharyneal and nasopharyngeal disease and primary anthrax meningoencephalitis. Some authors have speculated that the port of entry for primary anthrax meningoencephalitis is either an unrecognized lower respiratory tract port of entry or transethmoid migration of occult nasopharyngeal infection.
We found 2 cases of pediatric laryngopharyngeal anthrax, one report of a girl with nasopharyngeal disease, and one English-language and five foreign language case reports of children with primary meningoencephalitis (97% of whom died). From these cases, we conclude, that, although uncommon, children can have atypical presentations of anthrax. Although we cannot determine with certainty the means by which these patients contracted anthrax, we suspect an inhalational exposure for many, if not most, of them. To prevent delays in diagnosis and therapy during future bioterrorist attacks, clinicians should recognize that anthrax infection in both adults and children might present with primary nasal, laryngeal, pharyngeal, and/or meningeal symptoms.
Anthrax is a relatively common and historically well-recognized disease and yet rarely reported among children—particularly among the very young children. The paucity of pediatric anthrax case reports, particularly among the youngest children, suggests that these children may have less exposure to anthrax or that anthrax infection in this population may be under-diagnosed and/or under-reported. We note that the presenting symptoms for pediatric inhalational anthrax are very common for many childhood diseases and that naturally occurring anthrax disease is most prevalent in poor countries where children may never come to medical attention or have diagnostic cultures confirmed. Additionally, there may be a significant publication bias in this literature (e.g., cases that are unusual or fatal may be more likely to be published)..
What Is the Evidence for an Age-dependent Disease Progression Associated with Anthrax?
How Effective Are Antibiotic Prophylaxis and Treatment for Anthrax in Children Compared to Adults? Similarly, how effective are other medical treatments in children compared to adults (e.g. ventilator/respiratory support)?
Based on the review of evidence for Questions 1 and 2, what are the implications for children versus adults in terms of preparedness and response planning for anthrax exposure (i.e., healthcare provider education on diagnosis and management, considerations for hospitals, vaccination strategies)?
Only one of the 62 pediatric anthrax cases was treated with a fluoroquinolone; however, penicillin-based and antiserum regimens were much more commonly used among the included cases and were associated with favorable survival rates. Antiserum is not included in current treatment guidelines or bioterrorism preparedness inventories and has been associated with serum sickness and inconsistency in effectiveness across batches. Similarly, current treatment guidelines do not include penicillin as a single agent due to concerns of penicillin-resistant organisms. Thus, we have little evidence about the use of the medical regimens currently considered first line against anthrax and more evidence about those therapies not currently being recommended
To facilitate accurate diagnosis and effective treatment of children with anthrax, future pediatric anthrax case reports should provide much more detailed information about exposure, clinical presentation, and treatment responses for infants, toddlers, and adolescents with anthrax.
The finding that anthrax antiserum was associated with survival among historical cases of children with anthrax warrants additional research on the safety, efficacy, and potential availability of this therapy. Similarly, we found no reports of children having received anthrax vaccine (which is currently only available for adults)—additional research is required regarding the safety and effectiveness of anthrax vaccination for both prophylaxis and treatment of children exposed to anthrax.
The finding that children may not present with the same signs and symptoms as adults has implications for syndromic surveillance systems (e.g., the finding that non-headache neurological symptoms was a key distinguishing feature of adult inhalational anthrax was not found among children). Specifically, the development of pediatric syndromic surveillance requires additional research to identify the key presenting signs and symptoms of pediatric anthrax that distinguish patients with this disease from other common infections.
In response to the intentional release of Bacillus anthracis by mail in 2001, there has been a proliferation of guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with anthrax.2–10 However, most of these have not specified screening and management protocols for special populations, such as children. Children will likely be among the victims of future bioterrorism attacks on the general public as they were during the 1995 sarin attack in Tokyo (which affected 16 children and five pregnant women) and the 1984 intentional Salmonella contamination of salad bars in Oregon (which affected numerous high school students).1 Additionally, children may be the specific targets of some terrorists as they were during the unsuccessful 1995 plot to release a chlorine gas bomb in California's Disneyland.11 There is not a clear consensus as to whether children have particular physiological vulnerabilities to biological threat agents; however, young children may not be capable of seeking medical care or following the instructions of clinicians or public health officials—this can be particularly problematic if their parents or caregivers have, themselves, been incapacitated.1,11–13 Efforts to prepare for and respond to future attacks of anthrax bioterrorism will be aided by detailed information about the clinical presentation and treatment responses of both adult and pediatric populations exposed to anthrax.
Principally because of the paucity of pediatric cases in large case series of anthrax, observers have speculated that children are less susceptible to anthrax infection and may have different clinical courses after infection than adults. For example, during the 1979 Sverdlovsk outbreak, 70 patients were exposed and developed clinical anthrax after an airborne release of spores.14,15 However, there were no victims under the age of 24 reported—despite the fact that children were in the path of the plume.16 Additionally, researchers have noted that there was no age-dependent susceptibility noted among the Sverdlovsk victims above 24 years of age.16 However, because there are no published reports synthesizing data from all reported pediatric cases of anthrax, it is unknown to what extent patient characteristics, early detection, and early treatment affect disease progression and mortality in pediatric populations.
The development of protocols for the screening of pediatric patients with suspected anthrax and their subsequent management should be based on evaluation of the available literature regarding the clinical presentation and disease progression of children exposed to anthrax. Thus, we performed a systematic review of case reports of pediatric anthrax to describe the clinical course, treatment responses, and predictors of disease progression and mortality for children with anthrax infection. In addition to cases of inhalational, gastrointestinal, and cutaneous anthrax, we included in our analysis case reports of primary anthrax meningoencephalitis (i.e., without an identifiable inhalational, gastrointestinal, or cutaneous source).
For a previous evidence report, “Regionalization of Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response”17 we synthesized all cases of adult inhalational anthrax published between 1900 and 2005. For the current project, we sought to synthesize the data from English-language case reports of children with inhalational, gastrointestinal, cutaneous, and atypical anthrax to answer three key research questions:
What is the evidence for an age-dependent clinical course associated with anthrax?
How effective are antibiotic prophylaxis and treatment for anthrax in children compared to adults? Similarly, how effective are other medical treatments in children compared to adults (e.g. ventilator/respiratory support)?
Based on the review of evidence for Questions 1 and 2, what are the implications for children versus adults in terms of preparedness and response planning for anthrax exposure (i.e., healthcare provider education on diagnosis and management, considerations for hospitals, vaccination strategies)?
We sought all English-language case reports of patients aged 18 years or younger with inhalational, gastrointestinal, or atypical anthrax (e.g., primary anthrax meningoencephalitis without an identifiable inhalational or cutaneous source). Because there have been hundreds of case reports of pediatric cutaneous anthrax, given limited resources, we selected a random sample of 50 English-language case reports of pediatric anthrax for abstraction. We then augmented the data abstracted from the English-language pediatric case reports with the data available from our prior Evidence Report on adult cases of inhalational anthrax.17
| Any one of the following: | |
| |
Culture (any source) or immunological evidence of recent Bacillus anthracis infection.
Clinical symptoms of inhalational anthrax included flu like symptoms, fever, cough, dyspnea, chest pain, abnormal lung exam, or mediastinal widening or pleural effusions on chest roentenogram.
Autopsy findings of inhalational anthrax included excessive pleural fluid (particularly if hemorrhagic), enlarged or hemorrhagic mediastinum, mediastinal lymphadenopathy, or subpleural congestion.14,18,19
Gram-stain evidence (any source) of B. anthracis: gram-positive, spore-forming, nonmotile, hemolytic, spore-forming bacilli measuring1–1.3 × 3–10 μm20
Received appropriate antibiotics (% B. anthracis strains susceptible ≥70%) or anti-serum.
| Any one of the following (exclude if patient meets cutaneous or inhalational case definition): | |
| |
Clinical symptoms of gastrointestinal anthrax included diarrhea (especially bloody/tarry), abdominal pain, abdominal distension and/or evidence of ascites.
Autopsy findings of gastrointestinal anthrax included excessive peritoneal fluid (particularly if hemorrhagic), enlarged or hemorrhagic mesenteric lymphadenopathy, and/or small bowel/stomach ulceration(s).
| Any one of the following (exclude if patient meets inhalational case definition): | |
| |
Gram-stain evidence (any source) of B. anthracis: gram-positive, spore-forming, nonmotile, hemolytic, spore-forming bacilli measuring1–1.3 × 3–10 μm20
| The following (exclude if patient meets inhalational, gastrointestinal, or cutaneous case definitions): | |
| Culture or gram-stain AND either cerebrospinal fluidh or autopsyi findings consistent with anthrax meningoencephalitis. | |
Cerebral spinal fluid consistent with meningoencephalitis (e.g., bloody fluid, leukocytosis, etc.)
Autopsy findings consistent with meningoencephalitis (e.g., hemorrhagic meninges).
| The following (exclude if patient meets inhalational, gastrointestinal, cutaneous, or primary anthrax meningitis case definitions): | |
| Culture or gram-stain or autopsyi findings consistent with anthrax. | |
Autopsy findings consistent with meningoencephalitis (e.g., hemorrhagic meninges).
and our separate inclusion criteria for inhalational anthrax in Table 1, gastrointestinal anthrax in Table 2, cutaneous anthrax in Table 3, primary anthrax meningoencephalitis in Table 4, and atypical anthrax inTable 5. If the authors of a case report described a patient as having a particular type of anthrax (such as gastrointestinal disease) and they did not meet our inclusion criteria for that type of anthrax, we noted this. We excluded reports in which the authors presented summary information about a group of patients with anthrax but did not include individual patient data.We identified case reports of pediatric anthrax referenced in MEDLINE® between January 1966 and June 2005 using the MeSH terms anthrax and case report. We then performed additional comprehensive searches of retrieved bibliographies and the indexes of the following selected journals from 1900 to 1966: New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, AMA-Archives of Internal Medicine, Lancet, BMJ, Medical Journal of Australia, La Presse Médicale, Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société Médicale des Hôpitaux de Paris, Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift, Wiener Medizinische Wochesnschrift, Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift, Muenchener Medizinische Wochenschrift, Berliner Klinische Wochenschrift, La Semana Medicale. From our previous synthesis of adult inhalational anthrax cases, we found that much of the literature on clinical anthrax was published before 1966 (the earliest publication referenced in MEDLINE®). Thus, we performed extensive manual searches of retrieved bibliographies.
Because case reports of pediatric inhalational anthrax are relatively rare, in an effort to maximize the number of included cases, we included case reports of pediatric anthrax (0 to 18 years of age) presenting from 1900 to 2005. Although medical treatment for anthrax has changed considerably since 1900 (particularly since the advent of effective antimicrobials), we were interested in presenting signs and symptoms, which would not be affected by medical interventions. We excluded articles that described cases presenting prior to 1900 because B. anthracis was not identified as the causative agent of clinical inhalational anthrax until 187721 and because the use of reliable microscopic22 and cultural examination techniques23 to confirm the diagnosis were not developed until the late 19th century.
Two investigators screened potentially relevant articles to determine whether they met inclusion criteria. One investigator independently abstracted patient data from each included English language article and reviewed bibliographies for additional potentially relevant studies. We resolved abstraction discrepancies by repeated review and discussion. If two or more studies presented the same data from a single patient, we included the data only once in our analyses.
Because the purpose of this project is to characterize the spectrum of pediatric anthrax disease as well as to identify the differences in disease progression and treatment responses of adults and children with anthrax, we abstracted three primary types of data from each included article: (1) patient information (e.g., age, gender, nationality); (2) symptom and disease progression information (e.g., whether the patient developed meningitis); and (3) treatment information (e.g., treatments received, year of treatment). Data abstractions were performed directly into a detailed Excel abstraction form. The abstracted variables and their brief definitions are provided in Appendix A (including the definitions of some of the medical terms used in the case descriptions of individual patients).
To obtain a random sample of 50 case reports of pediatric cutaneous anthrax, we used a random number generator to select 50 reference identification numbers from the more than 200 pediatric cutaneous case reports that we retrieved from our literature search.
To evaluate the quality of the included case reports, we determined the extent to which the diagnosis of anthrax was confirmed (e.g., autopsy versus cultures versus response to therapy during a known outbreak) and whether the source of infection (e.g., inhalational disease) was established.
Given key physiological differences among infants, toddlers, and adolescents, we analyzed case reports according to three age groups: 0–2 years, 3–13 years, and 14–18 years. Univariate analyses enabled us to summarize the key patient and treatment characteristics. We computed correlation coefficients between mortality and patient and treatment factors. For single comparisons, we considered a p-value less than 0.05 statistically significant. When comparing U.S 2001 to pre-2001 cases (or patients who lived to those who died), we applied a Bonferroni correction to account for multiple comparisons (we considered a p-value less than 0.025 statistically significant (0.05/2 = 0.025)).
A draft of this Evidence Report was sent to a panel of seven experts in pediatrics, infectious diseases, public health, and bioterrorism preparedness (Appendix C). Their comments were incorporated into the final Report.
We identified 246 titles of potentially relevant articles from our MEDLINE® search and 2253 additional references from our manual search of the bibliographies of retrieved articles and the indexes of the 14 selected journals. After removing duplicate reports, we included 62 English case reports of pediatric anthrax from which we abstracted detailed patient, treatment, and disease progression information. We did not find any reports of anthrax in pregnant women or reports of prenatal cases of anthrax.
| Source of Anthrax Infection | Number of Pediatric Cases | Number of Adult Cases | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Non-English | Total | English | Non-English | Total | |
| Inhalational | 2 | 3 | 5 | 45 | 32 | 77 |
| Gastrointestinal | 20 | 2 | 22 | 42 | 50 | 92 |
| Cutaneous | 222b | 229 | 451 | 895 | 1724 | 2619 |
| Atypical: Laryngopharyngeal | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Atypical: Nasopharyngeal | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Atypical: Primary Meningoencephalitis | 1 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 10 | 32 |
Pediatric Cases were defined as those in persons ≤ 18 years old.
Of the 222 cutaneous cases, we selected a random sample of 50 for abstraction, of which only 37 provided sufficient data for inclusion in this analysis
| Age Group | Source of Anthrax Infection | Number of Cases | Number of Females | Number Surviving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | Inhalational | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Gastrointestinal | 4 | 2 (50%) | 1 (25%) | |
| Cutaneous | 3 | 2 (66.7%) | 1 (33%) | |
| Atypical | 0 | 0 | N/A | |
| >2 to 13 years | Inhalational | 1a | 1 (100%) | 1 (50%) |
| Gastrointestinal | 8 | 1 (12.5%) | 3 (42.8%)b | |
| Cutaneous | 12 | 1 (8%) | 12 (100%) | |
| Atypical: Laryngopharyngeal | 1 | 0 (0%) | 1 (100%) | |
| >13 to 18 years | Inhalational | 1 | 1 (100%) | 0 |
| Gastrointestinal | 8 | 2 (25%) | 3 (37.5%) | |
| Cutaneous | 22 | 4 (21%)c | 18 (82%) | |
| Atypical: Laryngopharyngeal | 1 | 0 (0%) | 1 (100%) | |
| Atypical: Primary Meningoencephalitis | 1 | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | |
This cases was 2.5 years old.
One case report of gastrointestinal anthrax did not state if the patient survived.
Three reports of patients with cutaneous anthrax did not state the patients' gender.
N/A = not applicable
In the sections that follow, we first present the results for each types of pediatric anthrax (e.g., inhalational, gastrointestinal) then present summary information about all reviewed cases including summary information about treatment responses.
Background. Because it is assumed that during a bioterrorism event, anthrax spores would be inhaled from an aerosolized source, a comprehensive assessment of the clinical presentation of inhalational anthrax is essential for early diagnosis. We direct interested readers elsewhere for reviews of the adult literature of inhalational anthrax.24,25 Briefly, among adults inhalational anthrax typically presents with a prodromal phase (often described as flu-like) during which fever, chills, and cough are the most common presenting symptoms. 24,25 Among adults, the most common symptoms and/or findings at admission are abnormal temperature, abnormal lung findings, complaint of fever or chills, tachycardia, fatigue or malaise, cough or dyspnea.24 Non-headache neurological symptoms such as dizziness, visual changes, and syncope are also prominent and are key symptoms that distinguish patients with inhalational anthrax in the prodromal phase from patients with influenza. 24,25 Among adult patients, with the exception of one patient (who was a veterinarian and thought to have partial immunity to anthrax from prior exposure), patients not treated during the prodromal phase progress to the fulminant phase.26 The fulminant phase of disease is characterized by a rapidly progressive critical illness with respiratory failure, shock, and, usually, death. Regardless of antibiotic/anti-serum therapy or other medical intervention such as mechanical ventilation, the overall mortality rate in fulminant phase is 97% (only two patients are known to have survived the fulminant phase of inhalational anthrax).27–34All adult patients with inhalational anthrax who had chest roentenograms had abnormal findings including pleural effusions (69%) or widened mediastinum (54%).24
| Yr. (Ref.) | Age, Gender | Country | Anthrax Exposure Risk | Symptoms at Presentation | Initial Physical Exam | Initial Labs | Treatment* | Complications‡ | Died | Autopsy Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English-Language Pediatric Cases | ||||||||||
| 192835 | 2.5, F | U.S. | Unknown | Cough, restlessness | Febrile, abnormal lung exam, cyanosis, pharyngeal erythema & edema, abdominal distension, mottled skin, erythematous bulging tympanic membranes | WBC 18K; purulent urine | H | PE, PFD, C | No | n/a |
| 197536 | 16, F | Iran | Unknown | Dyspnea, axilla swelling | Abnormal lung exam, afebrile, abnormal chest roentenogram | P, Ch | - | Yes | Pulmonary edema, mediastinal widening, hemorrhagic mediastinal and axillary nodes | |
| Foreign-Language Pediatric Cases | ||||||||||
| 190137,38 | 16, F | Poland | Unknown | “In agony” | - | - | None | M, PE | Yes | n/a |
| 192939 | 17, M | Germany | Wool | Fever, chills, pleurisy, cough, dyspnea, hemoptysis | Febrile, tachycardia, abnormal lung exam | - | As | - | No | n/a |
| 195440,41 | 13,M | Russia | Dust from infected sheep and calf | - | - | - | None | M | Yes | n/a |
Treatment abbreviations: As-Anthrax anti-serum, Ch-Chloramphenicol, H-Horse anti-serum, P-Penicillin.
Complications: M-Meningitis, C-Cyanosis, PE-Pleural effusion(s), PFD-Pleural fluid drainage.
The symbol '-' represents either not seen prior to death or no additional signs or symptoms noted in case report at presentation.
The first was a 1928 report of a 2½ year old girl who lived on a farm in Iowa on which several horses had died. She presented with a fever to 103°F; restlessness; coughing; bulging, erythematous tympanic membranes; and “a marked translucent edema about the eyes” that extended to the waist.35 Her initial lung exam was notable for “numerous fine crepitant râles were superimposed over tubular breathing.”35 Her laboratory tests were significant for a leukocyte count of 18,000 and urinalysis that was frankly purulent. Chest roentenogram revealed a “diffuse pneumonic process of the right lung.35 Because copious gram-positive organisms grew from her pleural fluid, she was given anthrax anti-serum. On hospital day ten she defervesced and was much improved; however, it was noted that she could not see. On fundoscopic examination, she was noted to have pale retinae and almost white optic cups, no visible veins, and arteries “that showed only as minute threads.” 35 Her clinicians concluded that she had suffered septic emboli of her optic arteries.35 She was discharged and on follow up examination was noted to be a healthy child who “walked and talked, and gave evidence of light perception, but no vision.”35
The second case was a 1975 report of a 16 year old Iranian farmer girl admitted with dyspnea and painless swelling in her left axilla for two days.36 On admission, she was afebrile but was noted to have edema of her chest wall and scattered râles of the lung bases.36 Over the first hospital day, her axillary swelling increased in size and the skin overlying it developed petechial hemorrhages.36 Her leukocyte count was 33,000 with 90% neutrophils and her chest roentenogram showed “marked widening of the mediastinum with smooth borders and a soft tissue swelling over the right chest wall. The lung fields were clear.”36 She became stuporous and developed severe respiratory stridor and was treated with penicillin and chloramphenicol. On hospital day three, despite this treatment, she became hypotensive and died.36 Autopsy showed massive pulmonary edema, mediastinal widening with hemorrhage of the mediastinal lymph nodes—one of which had eroded into the carina. B. anthracis was cultured from the mediastinum and lungs.36
A screening algorithm based principally on adult anthrax cases designed to distinguish patients with inhalational anthrax from those with common viral respiratory tract infections found that rhinorrhea and sore throat were the two symptoms most associated with viral illnesses (positive likelihood ratios of 0.2 [CI, 0.1–0.4] and 0.2 [CI, 0.1–0.5] respectively).25 None of the included pediatric patients were reported to have either of these symptoms. In this screening algorithm, the symptoms most suggestive of inhalational anthrax were nonheadache neurological symptoms (no positive likelihood ratio calculated), dyspnea (positive likelihood ratio, 5.1 [CI, 3.0–8.5]), nausea or vomiting (positive likelihood ratio, 5.3 [CI, 3.7–7.4]), and any abnormality on lung auscultation (positive likelihood ratio, 8.1 [CI, 5.3–12.5]). 25 All of the children for whom we have signs and symptom data were found to have dyspnea and abnormal lung exams; however, none had either nonheadache neurological symptoms or nausea or vomiting. This suggests that this screening algorithm may have less diagnostic accuracy for children than for adults presenting with inhalational anthrax.
In adults, pleural fluid drainage was significantly associated with survival after the development of fulminant inhalational anthrax.24 One child with inhalational anthrax received pleural fluid drainage (and she survived). However, we have insufficient cases to determine the extent which pleural fluid drainage (or other treatment modalities) were particularly associated with survival.
Summary. In the event of an aerosolized anthrax bioterrorism attack, most of the resultant morbidity and mortality will be from inhalational disease. The five published case reports of pediatric anthrax provide insufficient evidence to classify the typical presentation or treatment responses of children with inhalational anthrax or to compare them to adults with inhalational disease. However, the little evidence that is available on pediatric inhalation anthrax does provide us with three interesting observations. First, we note that the adolescent who received treatment during the fulminant phase died. This is in keeping with the high fatality rate for patients with fulminant inhalational anthrax observed for adult cases. Second, the two children who survived were treated with antiserum—a treatment not typically included in current treatment guidelines or bioterrorism preparedness inventories (we describe the use of anti-serum in greater detail in the section on treatment response in the summary of all cases at the end of this chapter). Finally, there is a paucity of pediatric cases in the literature for what is a relatively common and historically well-recognized disease. This suggests that pediatric cases may be under-diagnosed (we note that the presenting symptoms for pediatric inhalational anthrax are very common for many childhood diseases), or that children may have decreased exposure (as this has traditionally been an occupational illness), or that a significant publication bias may exist in this literature (e.g., cases that are unusual or fatal may be more likely to be published). For example, we question whether the case of the two year old Iowa farm girl was published because of the unusual complication of septic emboli, and may not represent the typical spectrum of presentations of inhalational anthrax.
Background. Gastrointestinal anthrax results from the ingestion of B. anthracis spores leading to the infection (and often ulceration) of the gastrointestinal epithelium. Whereas the vegetative forms of B. anthracis can be killed by pasteurization, anthrax spores are robust and can cause disease even after exposure to heat, cold, desiccation, and exposure to acid.42 Thus, a bioterrorism attack in which spores were used to contaminate food or beverages could result in gastrointestinal disease. Additionally, after a mail-based attack (such as during 2001), gastrointestinal disease could occur through manual deposition of spores into the mouth or contamination of nearby consumables.
Compared to inhalational and cutaneous disease, gastrointestingal anthrax is considered quite rare among adults, especially in the U.S. Often there have been outbreaks of several patients presenting with gastrointestinal anthrax after consuming contaminated meat.43 The mortality rate for treated gastrointestinal anthrax is generally reported as approximately 40%.42 Historically, gastrointestinal anthrax has been recognized as presenting in two forms: oropharyngeal disease among patients in whom the site of infection is the upper gastrointestinal tract and intestinal disease among patients in whom the site of infection is the lower gastrointestinal tract.42 Oropharyngeal anthrax presents with high fevers, ulcerations of the posterior oropharynx, severe sore throat, and cervical lymphadenopathy (often with marked swelling of the neck).42 In a report of an outbreak of adults with oropharyngeal disease contracted from consuming contaminated meat, three of the 24 patients died.44
In contrast, intestinal anthrax presents with high fevers, diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, and serosanginous or frankly hemorrhagic ascites.42 In a report of 155 people in Uganda who ate a contaminated zebu, 91% developed anthrax with gastrointestinal complaints (including nine children who died within 48 hours of onset of symptoms2 ).45 Whereas bowel ulcerations are a common finding among adults with gastrointestinal anthrax; nonulcerative, hemorrhagic lesions of the bowel are often associated with anthrax sepsis from inhalational, cutaneous, and oropharyngeal disease.42 Abdominal roentgenograms generally reveal nonspecific findings such as increased bowel gas patterns with air-fluid levels or evidence of ascites.42
Pediatric gastrointestinal anthrax reports. We found 20 English-language case reports of pediatric gastrointestinal anthrax—most of which were associated with a known outbreak, typically resulting from the consumption of contaminated meat. Seven patients survived. The average age of these patients was 10.5 years (four children were ≤ 2 years old, eight children were >2 to 13 years old; and eight children were >13 to 18 years old). Five were girls and none of the cases were from the U.S.
| Yr. (Ref.) | Age, Gender | Country | Type of GI disease§ | Initial Symptoms | Initial Physical Exam | Treatment* | Complications‡ | Died | Autopsy Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200248 | 15, M | Iran | LG | Fever, abd pain, diarrhea | Febrile but vital signs otherwise normal. Abdomen tender, no splenomegaly. | P | Sh, DIC | Yes | Subendocardial petechiae non hemorrhagic effusion. |
| Stomach, small bowel, mesentery and spleen had edema, hemorrhage, adenopathy but no ulcerations. Esophagus hemorrhagic spots | |||||||||
| 1991 | 2, F | Iran | LG | Fever, abd pain, emesis | Febrile, tachycardic, tachypneic, hypotensive Cyanosis, abd tender, distended, no bowel sounds, no skin lesions | A, G, Ch | Yes | None reported | |
| 200248,49 | 8, M | Iran | LG | None reported | None reported | None reported | Yes | None reported | |
| 198950 | 11, M | India | LG | No info | Antibiotics, type not specified | Not stated | None reported | ||
| 197651 | 17, M | Bangladesh | LG | Fever, anorexia, abd pain | Febrile, no lung findings, abd tender, no distention, no hepato/splenomegaly, slight R flank tenderness, bowels sounds slightly decreased | P, A, Ch, S, T, E | T, Sh | No | Not applicable |
| 196543 | 7, M | Lebanon | LG | Periumbilical pain, fever, vomiting | Distended abd, palpable mass in R iliac fossa ascites, hypotension | P | S | No | Not applicable |
| 196243 | 17, M | Lebanon | LG | Fever, abd pain | Tender distended abdomen, ascites | P, S | S | No | Not applicable |
| 197443 | 15, M | Lebanon | LG | None reported | Ascites, oculofacial congestion | P | S, Sh | No | Not applicable |
| 196552 | 14, M | Thailand | LG | Fever, abd pain, emesis, diarrhea | On admission vital signs were stable, respiratory distress, delerium, abd tender, distended, ascites | “antimicro-bials not given” | Sh, RF | Yes | No cerebral findings, lung hemorrhage; small bowel, mesentery and spleen edema and hemorrhage; small bowel ulcerations; mesenteric adenopathy |
| 193253 | 7, M | Philippines | LG | Fever, abd pain | None reported | None reported | No | Not applicable | |
| 198954 | 6, M | Iran | LG | Fever, emesis | Febrile, tachypneic, nuchal rigidity, kernigs sign | P, S | PE, PFD, Sh, M | No | Not applicable |
| 198954 | 2, F | Iran | LG | Febrile, tachypneic, coma, seizure, nuchal rigidity, + kernigs, ptosis, dilatation rt pupil | P, S | M | Yes | None reported | |
| 199755 | 13, M | Asia | LG | Emesis | Febrile, dehydrated, RLQ tenderness, no rebound or guarding, decreased bowel sounds, no meningeal or skin signs | Cf,A, Cm | MV, Sh, RF, DIC, M | Yes | Grossly swollen brain with focal subarachnoid hemorrhage, lots of gram + bacteria; cecum hemorrhagic and necrotic with polys, macrophages, bacteria |
| 199656 | 11, F | Europe | LG | Fever, abd pain, emesis | Febrile, ALOC, no nuchal rigidity,no skin signs | None reported | MV, RF, M | Yes | None reported |
| 195357 | 15, M | Africa | LG | Emesis | Febrile, coma, no focal neuro, no nuchal rigidity | P | M | Yes | Petechial, subarachnoid hemorrhage, no hemorrhagic lesions of mouth, no lung findings, small bowel hemorrhage and small ulcer, no splenic findings, mild jaundice of all tissues |
| 199458 | 13, M | Asia | LG | Fever, abd pain, emesis | None reported | A, Cx, Cm,M, Fl, Ac | M | Yes | Meningial involvement of anthrax bacilli |
| 200359 | 2, M | Asia | LG | Fever, abd pain, emesis | ALOC, coma | None reported | M | Yes | None reported |
| 197747 | 3 mos, M | India | UG | Emesis | No fever on admission (abx prior), blebs, ulceration and sloughing of gums and hard palate, ulcerations covered with “dirty looking slough” | P | No | Not applicable | |
| 198146 | 18, F | Turkey | UG | Fever, dyspnea, dysphagia | None reported | P,G | RF | Yes | Brain, lung hemorrhage, tonsillar findings, ENT adenopathy, no abdominal findings noted |
| 198346 | 16, F | Turkey | UG | Fever, dysphagia | Febrile, lethargic, orolaryngeal edema, large tonsil with pseudomembrane and right-sided neck mass | None reported | Sh | Yes | Brain, lung hemorrhage, tonsillar findings, ENT adenopathy, small bowel hemorrage, hyperemia kidneys and liver |
Type of GI disease refers to whether the primary source of infection was the upper (UG) or lower (LG) gastrointestinal tract.
Antibiotics or anthrax anti-serum. Abbreviations: A-Ampicillin, Ac-Acylovir, Ag-Amoxicillin/Clavulanate, Am-Ambramycin, As-Anthrax anti-serum, Ax-Amoxicillin, Au-Aureomycin, Az-Azithromycin, C-Ciprofloxacin, Ce-Cefamandol, Cf-Cefuroxime, Ch-Chloramphenicol, Cl-Clindamycin, Cm-Cefotaxime, Cn-Ceftriaxone, Cx-Cloxacillin, Cz-Ceftazidime, D-Doxycycline, E-Erythromycin, F-Flucloxacillin, Fl-Fluconazole, G-Gentamicin, H-Horse anti-serum, L-Levofloxacin, M-Metronidazole, N-Naficillin, P-Penicillin, R-Rifampin, Re-Reverin, S-Streptomycin, Sd-Sulfadiazine, Sf-Sulfanilamide, St-Sulfathiazole, T-Tetracycline, Ts-Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole, U-Ampicillin/Sulbactam, V-Vancomycin.
Complications: M-Meningitis, C-Cyanosis, DIC-disseminated intravascular coagulation, PE-Pleural effusion(s), PFD-Pleural fluid drainage, S-surgery, Sh-shock, MV-mechanical ventilation, RF-Respiratory failureT-transfusion(s)
Thirteen of the 14 patients who received antibiotics were given a regimen that included a penicillin-based antibiotic, ten patients received more than one antibiotic, and no patients received anti-serum. The use of penicillin-based antibiotics likely reflects the year of the case report, the country of origin of the patient, among other factors. We found no patient or treatment factors that were significantly associated with survival from gastrointestinal anthrax; however, this analysis had limited power to detect predictors of survival given the small sample size. However, it is notable that whereas all five girls with gastrointestinal anthrax died, only seven of the 14 boys with gastrointestinal anthrax died. Additionally, cases prior to 1977 were less likely to die (six of the eight pre-1977 cases lived) compared to more recent cases (ten of the 11 cases after 1977 died).
Summary. The literature on pediatric gastrointestinal anthrax (of which only eight cases were less than 10 years old) provides four key results. First, whereas gastrointestinal anthrax is much rarer than other forms of anthrax for adults, there have been many more case reports of gastrointestinal disease than inhalational disease among children. Clearly, children are susceptible to gastrointestinal anthrax from agricultural sources—whether they would be more or less likely to present with primary gastrointestinal disease after a bioterrorism event likely depends on the type of bioterrorism attack (e.g., intentional contamination of food sources or surfaces could result in gastrointestinal disease). Second, like adults, children have two presentations of gastrointestinal anthrax: upper tract disease characterized by dysphagia and oropharyngeal findings and lower tract disease characterized by fever, abdominal pain, and nausea and vomiting. Third, among the reported cases of gastrointestinal anthrax among children, there is a high case-fatality rate (63%). Among those who died, many had developed meningoencephalitis. Finally, that case reports from before 1977 were more likely to describe patients who lived is not readily explainable, and might represent publication bias among the more recent case reports.
Background. Cutaneous anthrax has long been recognized as an occupational hazard for adults handling contaminated animal products who introduce B. anthracis spores into the skin through cuts, abrasions, or insect bites.60 It is reported to account for more than 95% of clinical anthrax disease.61 Historically, after an incubation period of less than three days, cutaneous anthrax usually begins with a small, painless, pruritic papule on an exposed area.61 Classically, this lesion enlarges and becomes “oval eschar surrounded by vesicles with painless and marked edema.”62 Subcutaneously inoculated anthrax produce toxins resulting in the marked “brawny edema” and tissue necrosis characteristic of this disease.63 Anthrax bacilli can usually be easily demonstrated on gram stain smears of fluid from these lesions.61 Among adults, untreated cutaneous anthrax has been associated with a 5 to 20% case fatality rate (usually from haematologic dissemination of disease) but is rarely fatal when treated.61 During an aerosolized bioterrorism event with anthrax, children touching a contaminated surface may present with cutaneous disease.
| Yr. (Ref.) | Age, Gender | Country | Symptoms at Presentation | Initial Physical Exam | Treatment* | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 190564 | 17, F | G.B. | Throat swelling, skin lesion | Skin pustule, vesicle with edema | As | No |
| 190665 | 18, M | G.B. | Painless skin lesion | Fever, mildly tachycardic, pustule and edema | As, FFP | Yes |
| 192266 | 16,F | U.S. | Skin lesion | Circumscribed papulopustule | Surgical debridement | No |
| 192367 | 17, ? | U.S. | Cheek lesion | Cheek lesion | H | No |
| 192367 | 14, ? | U.S. | Skin lesion | Skin lesion | H | No |
| 194668 | 12, M | Mexico | Skin lesion | Skin eschar and edema | Cutaneous radiation rx | Not stated |
| 199969 | 16, M | Turkey | Fever, throat swelling, skin lesion with pruritis | Febrile, tachycardic, tachypneic, skin lesion | P; Flouroquinolone not specified. Steroids, surgical debridement | No |
| 197170 | 2, F | Africa | Fever, swelling on left side of face | Febrile, left face and mouth lesion | Ch; E | No |
| 200271 | 6, M | Turkey | Fever, skin lesion | Febrile, Forehead lesion | P | No |
| 200271 | 5, M | Turkey | Fever, skin lesion | Febrile, Forehead lesion | P | No |
| 199863 | 3, F | Turkey | Skin lesion forehead; Throat swelling | Forehead lesion | P | No |
| 199863 | 17, M | Turkey | Skin lesion on fingers | Finger lesion | P | No |
| 199863 | 17, F | Turkey | Skin lesions on fingers | Finger lesion | P | No |
| 193972 | 17, M | G.B. | Fever, skin lesion | Fever, pustule | Sulfa; As | No |
| 190673 | 17, M | G.B. | Neck lesion | Neck lesion | General antiserum, surgical debridement | Yes |
| 190673 | 17, M | G.B. | Right cheek lesion | Right cheek lesion | General antiserum; surgical debridement | Not stated |
| 190673 | 16, M | G.B. | 2 pustules on arm and foot | 2 pustules on arm and foot | General antiserum; surgical debridement | Not stated |
| 198674 | 3, M | Africa | Ectropion, no corneal scar | Ectropion, no corneal scarring | Left upper ectropian surgery | Not stated |
| 198375 | 2, M | Africa | No sx reported | Edema and eschar | P | Yes |
| 195876 | 15, M | G.B. | Skin lesion | Nothing documented | P and aminoglycoside | No |
| 193477 | 15, M | Africa | Fever, skin lesion | Fever, tachycardic, tachypneic, pustule and edema | Other abx unspecified | No |
| 198778 | 9, M | Turkey | Fever and skin lesion | Pustule and edema | P, steroids | No |
| 193279 | 17, M | India | Fever, malaise, painful pruritic skin lesion | Fever on admission, tender pustule initially, on admission evolved into vesicle | Neosalvarsan intravenously | No |
| 196162 | 7, M | U.S. | No complaints | Fever, rd on admission, circular black lesion on neck with vesicles | P, aminoglycoside | Not stated |
| 190180 | 16, M | Italy | Pustule on chin with swelling | Pustule and edema | As | Not stated |
| 200081 | 7, M | Turkey | Pruritic skin lesion | Erythematous pustule of eyelid, with edema | P | No |
| 199682 | 4, M | Turkey | Periorbital swelling, eyelid lesion, visual acuity ok | Edema and eschar, eye and vision not affected | P | No |
| 195883 | 17, M | Mexico | Right hand and forearm lesion | Skin lesion on hand | Aminoglycoside | No |
| 194484 | 5, M | Canada | Fever, right chin blister with edema and induration | Fever, tachycardia, nontender R submental blister surrounded by induration and pitting edema | P, sulfathiazole | No |
| 199960 | 18, F | India | None reported | Edema and eschar | P | No |
| 192085 | 15, M | US | Fever on admission, initial headache, odynophasia and throat swelling (no skin findings reported) | Febrile, tachycardic, tachypneic, coma and pharynx read and edematous | Yes** | |
| 195086 | 10, M | India | No reports | Barely febrile, mild tachycardia and tachypnea. Vessicle, edema on back of knee, inguinal lymphadenopathy | Ch | Not stated |
| 200187 | 5, M | India | Febrile, no respiratory distress, abdominal pain, swelling of rt cheek, painless lip ulcer | Febrile, nontoxic, extensive gelatinous edema of right cheek, nontender eschar, superficial lip lesion, no mouth involvement and cervical adenopathy | P | No |
| 197488 | 2, F | Africa | No sx reported | Vessical and edema on admission | P, Ch | No |
| 193389 | <5, ? | Australia | Fever, skin lesions | Afebrile with eschar, surrounding edema and blebs. No lymphadenopathy. | Carbolic ointment | No |
| 190090 | 16, M | China | On admission “patient looked and felt very ill” with indurated mass on upper lip and black scab | Febrile, ill-appearing with indurated mass and edema on upper lip with central eschar on admission. | Perchloride topically, carbolic acid orally, surgical debridement | No |
| 191191 | 17, M | U.S. | Fever, lip and cheek lesion | Febrile and tachycardic. Mouth, lip pustules with surrounding edema | Antistreptococcal serum | Yes |
Treatment with antibiotics or anthrax anti-serum. Abbreviations: A-Ampicillin, Ac-Acylovir, Ag-Amoxicillin/Clavulanate, Am-Ambramycin, As-Anthrax anti-serum, Ax-Amoxicillin, Au-Aureomycin, Az-Azithromycin, C-Ciprofloxacin, Ce-Cefamandol, Cf-Cefuroxime, Ch-Chloramphenicol, Cl-Clindamycin, Cm-Cefotaxime, Cn-Ceftriaxone, Cx-Cloxacillin, Cz-Ceftazidime, D-Doxycycline, E-Erythromycin, F-Flucloxacillin, Fl-Fluconazole, G-Gentamicin, H-Horse anti-serum, L-Levofloxacin, M-Metronidazole, N-Naficillin, P-Penicillin, R-Rifampin, Re-Reverin, S-Streptomycin, Sd-Sulfadiazine, Sf-Sulfanilamide, St-Sulfathiazole, T-Tetracycline, Ts-Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole, U-Ampicillin/Sulbactam, V-Vancomycin.
This patient developed meningitis.
Summary. The data from our sample of 37 cases of pediatric cutaneous anthrax are limited by very poor reporting of disease progression, patient characteristics, and treatment information. Among these included cases, the skin lesions described for children are similar to the classical skin lesions historically described for cutaneous anthrax. Similarly, the male predominance of disease and case fatality rates for children were similar to what has been described for adults with cutaneous anthrax.
Background. Historically, anthrax has been classified according to the three principal exposures: inhalational, gastrointestinal, and cutaneous. Historical reports92 and more recent animal data93,94 suggest that two distinct inhalational anthrax syndromes may occur—one characterized by the typical and well-documented lower respiratory tract port of entry and another that develops after upper respiratory tract port of entry. Furthermore, some authors have speculated that the port of entry for primary anthrax meningoencephalitis is either an unrecognized lower respiratory tract port of entry 95 or transethmoid.96–98 If the variety of inhalational anthrax presentations is not well recognized, misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis and treatment may result, thereby increasing anthrax-associated morbidity and mortality.
In our prior Evidence Report, we found that although rare, atypical anthrax presentations do occur among adults.99 Specifically, we found two case reports of adults presenting with laryngopharyngeal anthrax, five cases of adults with nasopharyngeal anthrax, and 26 cases of adults presenting with anthrax meningoencephalitis without inhalational, gastrointestinal, or cutaneous lesions.99 (If patients presented with these atypical symptoms but were known to have exposure to contaminated meat, we classified them as having gastrointestinal disease.)
Not surprisingly, patients with atypical anthrax were less likely to have a cough, chest pain, or abnormal lung exam than patients with typical inhalational disease.99 Adults with primary nasopharyngeal involvement experienced more rhinorrhea, nasal congestion or epistaxis than patients with typical inhalational disease.99 Patients with primary meningoencephalitis were more likely to experience non-headache neurologic complaints than patients with typical inhalational anthrax.99 The mortality rate for patients with primary anthrax meningoencephalitis was 97%.99
| Yr. (Ref.) | Age, Gender | Country | Symptoms at Presentation | Initial Physical Exam | Died | Autopsy Findings | Suspected route of entry‡‡ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 102,103 | 17, F | Argentina | Epistaxis, odynophagia, nasal obstruction, coryza, neck swelling | Tachycardia, febrile, pharyngitis; Face, palate & neck edema; Nasal serosanguinous discharge; Cervical adenopathy; No skin or tonsil lesions | No | N/A | Inhaled |
The two reports of adults with laryngopharyngeal anthrax are reviewed in detail elsewhere. 99 Briefly, one patient was a 20 year old African man (1970) while the other was a 41 year old German man (1904). Both of these adults with laryngeal disease presented with neck swelling and ultimately died of their disease. The German patient had autopsy evidence of leptomengingitis, laryngeal and pharyngeal edema with epithelial necrosis but no skin, tracheal, bronchial, lung, or small bowel abnormalities. Given the paucity of available clinical and treatment details in the case reports of these four patients, we are unable to conclude whether adults and children with laryngopharyngeal anthrax are likely to either present or progress differently.
| Yr. (Ref.) | Age, Gender | Country | Anthrax Exposure Risk | Symptoms at Presentation | Initial Physical Exam | Died | Autopsy Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English language case | |||||||
| 1975 100 | 14, M | Mexico | Slaughter-house | Headache, emesis, delirium, malaise, fever, seizures | Febrile, comatose, neurologic deficits, meningeal signs; No skin or abdominal abnormalities; Normal chest roentenogram | Yes | Congested lungs§§, patchy bronchopneumonia, splenic congestion, cerebral, hemorrhagic meningoencephalitis, few bowel ulcerations; No skin lesions |
| Foreign language cases | |||||||
| 1981 104 | 16, M | Iran | Unknown, food product salesman§ | Headache, emesis, fever, convulsions | Febrile, comatose, neurologic deficits, meningeal signs; No skin, lung or abdominal abnormalities | Yes | N/P |
| 1951 105 | 1, F | Italy | N/S | Fever, diarrhea, restlessness | Febrile; Tonsillar & oral cavity erythema/edema without ulceration/plaques; No skin, lung or abdominal abnormalities | Yes | N/P |
| 1940 106 | 17, M | Germany | N/S | Fever, headache, back pain, stomach complaints | Febrile; No skin, lung or abdominal abnormalities; No neurologic deficits | Yes | N/P |
| 1936 107 | 18, M | Romania | N/S | Fever, headache, abdominal pain, delirium | Comatose, cyanosis, abnormal lung exam, abdominal distension, neurologic deficits; No skin lesions | Yes | Hemorrhagic meningoencephalitis; Ascites and mesenteric adenopathy without bowel ulcerations; No lung or skin lesions |
| 1927 108 | 11, M | France | Horses, cattle | Anorexia, headache, chills, malaise, fatigue, emesis, delirium | Febrile, tachycardia, neurologic deficits, menigeal signs; No skin, throat, lung or abdominal abnormalities | Yes | N/P |
We classified cases according to one of three anatomical sites: nasal/nasopharyngeal, larygeal/laryngopharyngeal, or primary meningoencephalitis (without known cutaneous, gastrointestinal, or respiratory port of entry). Cases were classified primary according to the primary author(s) suspicion for the port of entry as well the anatomical site(s) of mucosol and lymph node abnormalities on exam or at autopsy.
Table Abbreviations: Ref=Reference(s); Yr=Year; F=Female; M=Male; U.S.=United States; G.B.=Great Britain; N/A=Not applicable; N/S=Not specified; N/P=Not performed; GI=Gastrointestinal; CT=Computed tomography
What the primary author(s) of the case report suspected as the route of entry for Bacillus anthracis spores.
The primary author suspected a primary nasopharyngeal infection with a secondary stomach/intestinal infection from swallowing nasal secretions.
Throat swabs cultured Bacillus anthracis with no other pathogenic organisms.
Pediatric primary mengingoencephalitis case results. Of the 6 pediatric case reports of primary meningoencephalitis only 1 was an English-language report for which complete data are available.100 This patient was a 14 year old Mexican boy who was thought to have been exposed in a slaughterhouse. He presented with high fever but otherwise normal vital signs, headache, delirium, seizures, and emesis. Initial physical exam was notable for the absence of pulmonary symptoms. Neurological findings included meningeal signs, eye deviation with horizontal nystagmus and nonreactive pupils, and coma. His initial significant laboratory results included an elevated white blood cell count with predominance of neutrophils and a lumbar puncture with a markedly elevated opening pressure and elevated cerebrospinal fluid protein. He had a normal chest roentenogram. The patient received penicillin and chloramphenicol but succumbed nevertheless. At autopsy, he was found to have hemorrhagic meningoencephalitis, lung and splenic edema, and small bowel ulcerations.
Among the five children described in the foreign language reports of patients with primary meningoencephalitis we have little patient or treatment information; however, fever, headache, and abdominal complaints including emesis and diarrhea were common presenting complaints. All five died.
Summary: Although rare, children (particularly adolescents) do present with atypical presentations of anthrax. Although we cannot determine with certainty the means by which these patients contracted anthrax, we suspect an inhalational exposure for many, if not most, of them. However, some of the atypical cases may be due to unrecognized cutaneous or gastrointestinal exposures. We attempted to limit this situation by excluding patients with skin lesions, histories of consuming contaminated meat, or symptoms or autopsy findings highly suggestive of gastrointestinal anthrax. Additionally, the consumption of contaminated meat is unlikely to cause nasal or nasopharyngeal involvement. To prevent delays in diagnosis and therapy during future bioterrorist attacks, clinicians should recognize that anthrax infection in both adults and children might present with atypical presentations.
The included cases were highly heterogeneous in terms of their clinical presentations and treatments received.
Among the 59 case reports which stated the patient's gender, only 14 (24%) were girls. This is similar to the gender discrepancy observed among adults and has historically been attributed to the fact that anthrax has largely been an occupational disease among professions (e.g., woolsorters and butchers) traditionally dominated by men. However, other biases may be contributing to the under-diagnosis and under-reporting of anthrax in girls relative to boys.
Eleven patients were reported to have had chest roentgenograms. Both of the patients with inhalational anthrax were found to have abnormalities on chest roentenogram. Of the four patients with gastrointestinal anthrax who had roentgenograms, two were found to have pulmonary abnormalities, one patient had “ascites but no other abnormalities,” and one had a normal examination. All four of the patients with cutaneous anthrax had normal chest roentgenograms. We conclude that the role of roentgenograms for diagnostic decision making in pediatric anthrax is not well established.
Among the included cases, nine developed meningoencephalitis (seven of these had gastrointestinal anthrax, one had cutaneous anthrax, and one had primary anthrax meningoencephalitis). All but one of these patients died.
Prior to the introduction of antibiotics, anthrax infection was primarily treated with anti-serum.109 Anthrax anti-serum reportedly decreased mortality by 75% compared to untreated patients.110–115 and its efficacy is supported by recent animal data.116 However, anaphylactic reactions and serum sickness were major side-effects. 117 Because anthrax virulence is caused by the production of two bacterial toxins, lethal factor and edema factor,10 it has been theorized that therapeutics (such as antiserum) directed against these toxins could be superior to antimicrobial agents.117–122 Additionally, the efficacy of anthrax immune therapy is supported by recent animal data using neutralizing monoclonial antibodies.116,123–125 In the 1940's effective antibiotics such as penicillin and chloramphenicol were added to anthrax treatment strategies.86,126 Anthrax anti-serum is no longer commercially available in most western countries including the U.S., but is still available in the Russian Federation and in China.117,127,128 Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded a contract to the Cangene Corporation (Winnipeg, Canada), to produce anthrax immune globulin between 10,000 and 100,000 doses for the Strategic National Stockpile.129–134 Anthrax immune globulin is a highly purified human antibody that is specific to anthrax and is collected from the plasma of soldiers who were inoculated with the anthrax vaccine.123,135 Additionally, Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (Rockville, Maryland) was awarded a similar contract to develop a monoclonal antibody inhibitor specific for anthrax protective antigen to also be included within the Strategic National Stockpile.12,131–134,136,137
| Treatment Received | Number of Patients | Number who Lived (%) | P value* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any antibiotic vs. no antibiotic or antiserum | 38 | 27 (71%) | 0.78 |
| Penicillin or penicillin-based antibiotic (e.g., ampicillin) vs. all other treatments | 30 | 19 (63%) | 0.89 |
| Antiserum vs. all other treatments | 11 | 9 (82%) | 0.29 |
| Aminoglycosides (most often streptomycin) vs. all other treatments | 10 | 7 (70%) | 0.85 |
| Chloramphenicol vs. all other treatments | 8 | 5 (63%) | 0.91 |
| Fluoroquinolones vs. all other treatments | 1 | 1 (100%) | 0.44 |
P value for the comparison of whether patients who received this treatment were more likely to survive than those who did not receive this treatment.
None of the included patients received anthrax vaccine. The currently licensed, Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA, Bioport Corporation, Lansing, MI) may have a role in post-exposure prophylaxis;142 however, it is currently only approved for 18 to 65 year olds.1,12
We had initially hoped to be able to evaluate the effect of time to onset of treatment on disease progression; however, insufficient evidence was available from the case reports to perform this analysis.
What Is the Evidence for an Age-dependent Disease Progression Associated With Anthrax?
How Effective Are Antibiotic Prophylaxis and Treatment for Anthrax in Children Compared to Adults? Similarly, How Effective Are Other Medical Treatments in Children Compared to Adults (e.g. Ventilator/Respiratory Support)?
Most of the children included in our analysis who received an antibiotic were given penicillin-based antibiotics which produced a 63% survival rate. Other successful treatments included antiserum, which produced an 82% survival rate. These survival rates were similar to those observed for adults.
Based on the Review of Evidence for Questions 1 and 2, What Are the Implications for Children Versus Adults in Terms of Preparedness and Response Planning for Anthrax exposure (i.e., Healthcare Provider Education on Diagnosis and Management, Considerations for Hospitals, Vaccination Strategies)?
This is the first published synthesis of the literature describing the spectrum of clinical anthrax in children. The 62 English-language pediatric cases included in this review provide four key findings.
First, children with anthrax present with a wide range of clinical signs and symptoms—which differ somewhat from the presenting features of adults with anthrax. Like adults, children with gastrointestinal anthrax have two distinct clinical presentations: One resulting from upper tract disease characterized by dysphagia and oropharyngeal findings and another resulting from lower tract disease characterized by fever, abdominal pain, and nausea and vomiting. Additionally, children with inhalational disease may have atypical presentations including primary meningoencephalitis. Clinicians and public health officials need to recognize the broad spectrum of potential presentations of anthrax in children for timely diagnosis and for the design of syndromic surveillance systems.144
Second, whereas children with inhalational anthrax did have abnormal chest roentgenograms, children with other forms of anthrax often had normal roentgenograms. Thus, the usefulness of roentgenograms in the early diagnosis of non-inhalational anthrax disease may be limited.
Third, most of the children included in our analysis who received an antibiotic were given penicillin-based antibiotics which produced a 63% survival rate. Other successful treatments included antiserum, which produced a 82% survival rate. Antiserum is not typically included in current treatment guidelines or bioterrorism preparedness inventories. Similarly, current treatment guidelines do not include penicillin as a single agent due to concerns of penicillin-resistant organisms.9, 138–141 Only one child received a fluoroquinolone—which is a key component of current treatment guidelines for children with anthrax. In the event of shortfalls in stockpiles of the currently recommended antibiotics, penicillin or antiserum may provide some therapeutic benefit.
Finally, anthrax is a relatively common and historically well-recognized disease and yet rarely reported among children. We did not find evidence to support or refute the claim that children may be less susceptible to anthrax infection. In general, the relatively small number of pediatric cases of anthrax may reflect that this has traditionally been an occupational disease so that, particularly young children, may not have the same degree of exposure to anthrax spores. Additionally, the paucity of pediatric anthrax case reports suggests that anthrax may be under-diagnosed in children. Under-diagnosis and under-reporting of anthrax is likely to occur for several reasons: The presenting symptoms for pediatric inhalational anthrax are very common for many childhood diseases and since acute respiratory infections are the second leading cause of death worldwide for children under five years old, it is highly likely that naturally occurring pediatric anthrax has been attributed to one of the common childhood respiratory infections.145, 146 Additionally, naturally occurring anthrax disease is most prevalent in poor countries with few healthcare resources and high infant mortality rates, where children may never come to medical attention or have diagnostic cultures confirmed.147 Also, clinicians may be unlikely to report a case without culture confirmation which can be difficult since B. anthracis is quickly cleared after the initiation of antibiotics.
This review has several limitations. First, because we did not have access to the original hospital and medical records, our analyses are dependent upon the data presented in the case reports. Second, because most of the patients in our review are presumed to have contracted anthrax from an occupational exposures or direct contact with contaminated animal products, our results may have limited generalizability to anthrax infection that occurs from bioterrorism. However, we cannot assess the extent to which differences in virulence and inoculating doses between anthrax infection from bioterrorism and from occupational exposure may result in differences in clinical presentations and treatment responses. Third, among the included cases, most were of older children. Thus, our results may not be generalizable to infants and toddlers with anthrax. Finally, the general paucity of pediatric cases suggests that there may be a significant publication bias in this literature.
In order to facilitate accurate diagnosis and effective treatment of children with anthrax, future pediatric anthrax case reports should provide much more detailed information about exposure, clinical presentation, and treatment responses (such as those data described in Appendix A).
The finding that children may not present with the same signs and symptoms as adults has implications for syndromic surveillance systems. An evaluation of a drop-in syndromic surveillance system compared the syndromic categorization by emergency department staff in 11 Phoenix hospitals with chief complaints and discharge diagnoses.148 Overall, agreement between the syndromic categorization and the discharge diagnoses was moderate (κ =0.63; [CI, 0.59–0.67]) with the greatest agreement for the gastroenteritis/diarrheal syndrome and lowest for the febrile respiratory tract infection syndrome.148 However, pediatric chief complaints showed lower agreement for the febrile respiratory tract infection syndrome when compared with adults (κ = 0.34 [95% CI = 0.20 to 0.47] versus κ = 0.44 [95% CI = 0.28 to 0.59], respectively). 148 This suggests that additional research is needed on the presenting signs and symptoms of pediatric anthrax to inform the development of pediatric syndromic surveillance categories.
Additionally, to determine the extent to which children and adults differ with respect to the prevention and treatment of anthrax-associated morbidity and mortality, comprehensive evaluations are required of the safety and efficacy of prophylactic vaccines, the role of various antibiotics (including those not currently recommended in prophylaxis and treatment guidelines), and the role of non-antibiotic therapies such as antiserum and pleural fluid drainage.
The limited data available on children with anthrax suggest that their clinical presentation and treatment responses differ somewhat from adults with anthrax. Clinicians and public health officials should be aware of these differences for the timely diagnosis of children with anthrax and for the development of syndromic surveillance tools for populations that include pediatric patients.
 |
Free Full text in PMC]Free Full text in PMC]Free Full text in PMC]Free Full text in PMC]Free Full text in PMC]Free Full text in PMC]Free Full text in PMC]| Peer Reviewer | Organizational Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Ann M. Arvin, MD | Lucile Salter Packard Professor of Pediatrics |
| Associate Dean of Research | |
| Professor of Microbiology & Immunology | |
| Stanford University | |
| Chief, Pediatric Infectious Diseases | |
| Krista M. Scardina, Pharm.D. | Public Health Analyst; Health Resources and Services Administration; Healthcare Systems Bureau; Division of Healthcare Preparedness; National Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program |
| Nathaniel Hupert, M.D., M.P.H. | Assistant Professor of Medicine and Public Health |
| Weill Medical College, Department of Public Health | |
| Gregory Moran, M.D. | Clinical Professor of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine |
| Department of Emergency Medicine and Division of Infectious Diseases, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center | |
| Mike Osterholm, Ph.D. | Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), Associate Director of the Department of Homeland Security's National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD), and Professor of Public Health, University of Minnesota |
| Irwin Redlener, M.D. | Professor of Clinical Public Health and Pediatrics |
| Associate Dean & Director, The National Center for Disaster Preparedness Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health | |
| Dean Wilkening, Ph.D. | Science Director, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University |
Free Full text in PMC]Free Full text in PMC]Free Full text in PMC]Free Full text in PMC]This nursery rhyme has been attributed to the pandemic of bubonic plague of the 1340s. Specifically, the ring-a-roses refers to the rose-colored rash of plague and the posies refer to the flowers and spices put into the pockets of victims to ward off the stench of death. The last two lines refer to the sneezing that was common among the victims just before their seemingly inevitable deaths.
These nine children are not included in our analysis because individual case report data have not been published for them.
