bacterial etiology of occult bacteremia in febrile children (3–36 months) in southwest iran using blood culture and pcr

Background and objective: the aim of this study was to investigate the common causes of bacterial fever in children aged 3 to 36 months suspected of occult bacteremia using blood culture and pcr methods. methods: we analyzed 120 children referred to aboozar hospital of ahvaz, iran. blood samples were subjected to culture and pcr, and demographic and laboratory data (wbc, esr, crp) were recorded. findings: blood culture result was positive in two patients (1.7%). the number of patients with definite positive pcr was 20 (16.66%). there was no significant difference between the mean values of wbc and neutrophil in positive and negative bacteremia. mean values of esr in bacterial positive cases were significantly higher compared with the negative ones. the percentage of patients with a history of antibiotic use was higher in the positive bacteremia group (55%) compared to the negative bacteremia group (46%), but no significant difference was observed. conclusion: while laboratory markers like wbc and neutrophil counts have limited accuracy in predicting bacteremia, the pcr method offers a more reliable alternative for diagnosing causative organisms. this is particularly relevant given the clinical presentation of patients, where traditional lab values may not be sufficient for diagnosis.