Clinical and Laboratory Predictors of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Infection in Children With Bloody Diarrhea

Children with acute bloody diarrhea are at risk of being infected with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and of progression to hemolytic uremic syndrome. Our objective was to identify clinical and laboratory factors associated with STEC infection in children who present with acute bloody diarrhea. We performed a prospective cohort study of consecutive children younger than 18 years who presented with acute (0.5 μg/mL) were insufficiently sensitive and specific for distinguishing patients with STEC from those with another bacterial cause of bloody diarrhea. However, this marker might be useful in identifying children whose bloody diarrhea is caused by a bacterial enteric pathogen.