Impact of HIV on standard case management for severe pneumonia in children

Cytomegalovirus pneumonia of infants in Africa: a narrative literature review

Cytomegalovirus pneumonia has repeatedly been described in the context of HIV-exposed uninfected and HIV-infected infants. Despite its significant role in the etiology of childhood pneumonia, there is still a paucity of literature generally, and specifically in Africa, suggesting that it might be a neglected disease. Emerging evidence highlights the importance of postnatal transmission through breastmilk. The pathogenetic significance of the multiplicity of strains acquired through repeated re-infections in early infancy is unknown. The development of cheap, accurate diagnostic tools and safe, effective antivirals and the maintenance of effective prevention and treatment of pediatric HIV are needed to manage cytomegalovirus pneumonia in low-resource settings.

Impact of systematic early tuberculosis detection using Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra in children with severe pneumonia in high tuberculosis burden countries (TB-Speed pneumonia): a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial

Background

In high tuberculosis (TB) burden settings, there is growing evidence that TB is common in children with pneumonia, the leading cause of death in children under 5 years worldwide. The current WHO standard of care (SOC) for young children with pneumonia considers a diagnosis of TB only if the child has a history of prolonged symptoms or fails to respond to antibiotic treatments. As a result, many children with TB-associated severe pneumonia are currently missed or diagnosed too late. We therefore propose a diagnostic trial to assess the impact on mortality of adding the systematic early detection of TB using Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra (Ultra) performed on nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) and stool samples to the WHO SOC for children with severe pneumonia, followed by immediate initiation of anti-TB treatment in children testing positive on any of the samples.

Methods

TB-Speed Pneumonia is a pragmatic stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in six countries with high TB incidence rate (Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Uganda, Mozambique, Zambia and Cambodia). We will enrol 3780 children under 5 years presenting with WHO-defined severe pneumonia across 15 hospitals over 18 months. All hospitals will start managing children using the WHO SOC for severe pneumonia; one hospital will be randomly selected to switch to the intervention every 5 weeks. The intervention consists of the WHO SOC plus rapid TB detection on the day of admission using Ultra performed on 1 nasopharyngeal aspirate and 1 stool sample. All children will be followed for 3 months, with systematic trial visits at day 3, discharge, 2 weeks post-discharge, and week 12. The primary endpoint is all-cause mortality 12 weeks after inclusion. Qualitative and health economic evaluations are embedded in the trial.

Discussion

In addition to testing the main hypothesis that molecular detection and early treatment will reduce TB mortality in children, the strength of such pragmatic research is that it provides some evidence regarding the feasibility of the intervention as part of routine care. Should this intervention be successful, safe and well tolerated, it could be systematically implemented at district hospital level where children with severe pneumonia are referred.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03831906. Registered 6 February 2019.

Current antimicrobial management of community-acquired pneumonia in HIV-infected children

INTRODUCTION

Community-acquired pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality amongst HIV-infected infants and children. Polymicrobial infection is common and, due to the difficulties in confirming the etiology of pneumonia, empiric broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy is frequently used.

AREAS COVERED

The author based this article on literature identified from PubMed. The author's search terms included: pneumonia, community-acquired pneumonia, HIV, children. The articles reviewed included original studies, recent review articles and current guidelines on the management of pneumonia in HIV-infected children. The microbiological etiology and the empiric and pathogen-specific antimicrobial therapy of community-acquired pneumonia in HIV-infected and HIV-exposed infants and children are also discussed.

EXPERT OPINION

There are many changing epidemiological factors impacting antimicrobial management of community-acquired pneumonia in the context of HIV infection in infants and children. These include vaccination strategies, antimicrobial prophylaxis, emerging drug-resistant pathogens, and recognition of the importance of viruses and tuberculosis in the etiology of community-acquired pneumonia. Further research is needed on optimal amtimicrobial management strategies in HIV-exposed uninfected children, and HIV-infected children receiving antiretroviral therapy.

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality globally. It is the leading cause of death in infants and young children with the majority of these deaths occurring in low income countries. Risk factors affecting incidence and outcome include extremes of age, poor nutrition, immunosuppression, environmental exposures and socioeconomic determinants. Pneumonia can be caused by a wide range of pathogens including bacteria, viruses and fungi, and the etiology varies by epidemiological setting, comorbidities and whether the pneumonia is community-acquired or hospital-acquired. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the major cause of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia while Gram negative bacteria, often resistant to multiple antibiotics, are common causes of hospital-acquired pneumonia and pneumonia in immunosuppressed individuals. Diagnosis is generally clinical and management is based mainly on knowledge of likely causative pathogens as well as clinical severity and presence of known risk factors. Timely and effective antibiotic treatment and oxygen therapy if hypoxemic are critical to patient outcomes. Preventive measures range from improved nutrition and hygiene to specific vaccines that target common causes in children and adults such as the pneumococcal or influenza vaccines.

Potentially Modifiable Factors Associated with Death of Infants and Children with Severe Pneumonia Routinely Managed in District Hospitals in Malawi

OBJECTIVE

To investigate recognised co-morbidities and clinical management associated with inpatient pneumonia mortality in Malawian district hospitals.

METHODS

Prospective cohort study, of patient records, carried out in Malawi between 1st October 2000 and 30th June 2003. The study included all children aged 0-59 months admitted to the paediatric wards in sixteen district hospitals throughout Malawi with severe and very severe pneumonia. We compared individual factors between those that survived (n = 14 076) and those that died (n = 1 633).

RESULTS

From logistic regression analysis, predictors of death in hospital, adjusted for age, sex and severity grade included comorbid conditions of meningitis (OR =2.49, 95% CI 1.50-4.15), malnutrition (OR =2.37, 95% CI 1.94-2.88) and severe anaemia (OR =1.41, 95% CI 1.03-1.92). Requiring supplementary oxygen (OR =2.16, 95% CI 1.85-2.51) and intravenous fluids (OR =3.02, 95% CI 2.13-4.28) were associated with death while blood transfusion was no longer significant (OR =1.10, 95% CI 0.77-1.57) when the model included severe anaemia.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified a number of challenges to improve outcome for Malawian infants and children hospitalised with pneumonia. These included improved assessment of co-morbidities and more rigorous application of standard case management.

Reducing deaths from severe pneumonia in children in Malawi by improving delivery of pneumonia case management

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the pneumonia specific case fatality rate over time following the implementation of a Child Lung Health Programme (CLHP) within the existing government health services in Malawi to improve delivery of pneumonia case management.

METHODS

A prospective, nationwide public health intervention was studied to evaluate the impact on pneumonia specific case fatality rate (CFR) in infants and young children (0 to 59 months of age) following the implementation of the CLHP. The implementation was step-wise from October 1st 2000 until 31st December 2005 within paediatric inpatient wards in 24 of 25 district hospitals in Malawi. Data analysis compared recorded outcomes in the first three months of the intervention (the control period) to the period after that, looking at trend over time and variation by calendar month, age group, severity of disease and region of the country. The analysis was repeated standardizing the follow-up period by using only the first 15 months after implementation at each district hospital.

FINDINGS

Following implementation, 47,228 children were admitted to hospital for severe/very severe pneumonia with an overall CFR of 9.8%. In both analyses, the highest CFR was in the children 2 to 11 months, and those with very severe pneumonia. The majority (64%) of cases, 2-59 months, had severe pneumonia. In this group there was a significant effect of the intervention Odds Ratio (OR) 0.70 (95%CI: 0.50-0.98); p = 0.036), while in the same age group children treated for very severe pneumonia there was no interventional benefit (OR 0.97 (95%CI: 0.72-1.30); p = 0.8). No benefit was observed for neonates (OR 0.83 (95%CI: 0.56-1.22); p = 0.335).

CONCLUSIONS

The nationwide implementation of the CLHP significantly reduced CFR in Malawian infants and children (2-59 months) treated for severe pneumonia. Reasons for the lack of benefit for neonates, infants and children with very severe pneumonia requires further research.

Global burden of childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea

Diarrhoea and pneumonia are the leading infectious causes of childhood morbidity and mortality. We comprehensively reviewed the epidemiology of childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia in 2010-11 to inform the planning of integrated control programmes for both illnesses. We estimated that, in 2010, there were 1·731 billion episodes of diarrhoea (36 million of which progressed to severe episodes) and 120 million episodes of pneumonia (14 million of which progressed to severe episodes) in children younger than 5 years. We estimated that, in 2011, 700,000 episodes of diarrhoea and 1·3 million of pneumonia led to death. A high proportion of deaths occurs in the first 2 years of life in both diseases--72% for diarrhoea and 81% for pneumonia. The epidemiology of childhood diarrhoea and that of pneumonia overlap, which might be partly because of shared risk factors, such as undernutrition, suboptimum breastfeeding, and zinc deficiency. Rotavirus is the most common cause of vaccine-preventable severe diarrhoea (associated with 28% of cases), and Streptococcus pneumoniae (18·3%) of vaccine-preventable severe pneumonia. Morbidity and mortality from childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea are falling, but action is needed globally and at country level to accelerate the reduction.

Economic burden of acute lower respiratory tract infection in South African children

BACKGROUND

Acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTI) are a leading cause of childhood mortality, but there are few data on disease costs in developing countries.

OBJECTIVES

This study's purpose was to analyse ALRTI's costs-of-illness and economic burden in urban South African children.

METHODS

ALRTI costs-of-illness (expressed in US$ 2010) at a tertiary hospital were measured using a micro-costing approach nested within a clinical trial. Demographic, epidemiological and data on use of health resources were integrated with costs-of-illness to estimate the economic burden of ALRTI in urban South African children aged <5 years.

RESULTS

745 children experiencing 858 ALRTI episodes were studied. 338 (39.4%), 513 (59.8%) and 7 (0.8%) episodes were managed in short-stay, paediatric ward and intensive care settings, respectively. Mean lengths of stay in short-stay, paediatric ward and intensive care (ICU) were 1.4, 8.1 and 14.4 days, respectively. The societal costs-of-illness per ALRTI episode managed in short-stay and paediatric ward settings, respectively, were US$266 (95% CI 245-286) and 1287 (95% CI 1174-1401) in HIV-infected patients, and US$257 (95% CI 247-267) and 1032 (95% CI 931-1133) in HIV-uninfected patients. Family costs were not collected in ICUs. ICU direct medical costs were US$5968 (95% CI 4025-8056) in HIV-uninfected patients and US$7849 in one HIV-infected patient. Under-5 children experienced an estimated 424,220 episodes annually of ALRTI. ALRTI treatment cost the public health system an estimated US$28,975,000 while an additional US$539,000 of costs were borne by families.

CONCLUSION

ALRTIs in children <5 years impose a heavy economic burden on families and the South African public health-care system.

Development of the Respiratory Index of Severity in Children (RISC) score among young children with respiratory infections in South Africa

Objective

Pneumonia is a leading cause of death in children worldwide. A simple clinical score predicting the probability of death in a young child with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) could aid clinicians in case management and provide a standardized severity measure during epidemiologic studies.

Methods

We analyzed 4,148 LRTI hospitalizations in children <24 months enrolled in a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine trial in South Africa from 1998–2001, to develop the Respiratory Index of Severity in Children (RISC). Using clinical data at admission, a multivariable logistic regression model for mortality was developed and statistically evaluated using bootstrap resampling techniques. Points were assigned to risk factors based on their coefficients in the multivariable model. A child's RISC score is the sum of points for each risk factor present. Separate models were developed for HIV-infected and non-infected children.

Results

Significant risk factors for HIV-infected and non-infected children included low oxygen saturation, chest indrawing, wheezing, and refusal to feed. The models also included age and HIV clinical classification (for HIV-infected children) or weight-for-age (for non-infected children). RISC scores ranged up to 7 points for HIV-infected or 6 points for non-infected children and correlated with probability of death (0–47%, HIV-infected; 0–14%, non-infected). Final models showed good discrimination (area under the ROC curve) and calibration (goodness-of-fit).

Conclusion

The RISC score incorporates a simple set of risk factors that accurately discriminate between young children based on their risk of death from LRTI, and may provide an objective means to quantify severity based on the risk of mortality.

Distinguishing malaria from severe pneumonia among hospitalized children who fulfilled integrated management of childhood illness criteria for both diseases: a hospital-based study in Mozambique

Malaria and severe pneumonia in hospitalized young children may show striking clinical similarities, making differential diagnosis challenging. We investigated ways to increase diagnostic accuracy in patients hospitalized with clinical symptoms compatible with malaria and severe pneumonia, in an area with high a prevalence of infection with human immunodeficiency virus. A total of 646 children admitted at the Manhiça District Hospital in Manhiça, Mozambique who met the World Health Organization clinical criteria for severe pneumonia and malaria were recruited for 12 months and thoroughly investigated to ascertain an accurate diagnosis. Although symptom overlap between malaria and severe pneumonia was frequent among hospitalized children, true disease overlap was uncommon. Clinical presentation and laboratory determinations were ineffective in reliably distinguishing between the two diseases. Infection with human immunodeficiency virus differentially influenced the epidemiology and clinical presentation of these two infectious diseases, further challenging their discrimination on clinical grounds, and having a greater impact on the current burden and prognosis of severe pneumonia.

Systematic review on the etiology and antibiotic treatment of pneumonia in human immunodeficiency virus-infected children

BACKGROUND

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children.

OBJECTIVES AND METHODS

A systematic review of studies that were published between January 1990 and February 2009 on the etiology and antimicrobial or adjunctive systemic management of CAP in HIV-infected children.

RESULTS

Pneumocystis jirovecii had the strongest association with HIV infection, with a summary odds ratio of 10.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 17.7-62.1) and 9.1 (95% CI, 2.5-33.1) in antemortem and postmortem studies, respectively. Cytomegalovirus was strongly associated with HIV positivity among fatal cases of pneumonia (summary odds ratio = 14.4 [95% CI, 6.7-30.8]). There was a trend toward a greater prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus (odds ratio, 2.5; 95% CI, 0.95-6.4) in HIV-infected children. Major limitations identified included substantial methodological heterogeneity across studies, limited sensitivity of assays for diagnosing bacterial pneumonia, and studies primarily being undertaken in the absence of antiretroviral treatment or cotrimoxazole prophylaxis. No a priori-planned randomized controlled trials on antimicrobial management of CAP in HIV-infected children were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

A World Health Organization panel used this review as well as analysis of risks and benefits to revise recommendations for antimicrobial treatment of CAP. Ampicillin plus gentamicin or ceftriaxone is now recommended as first-line empiric regimens for treating severe and very severe CAP in HIV-infected children. In addition, treatment with cloxacillin or vancomycin is recommended in settings with a high incidence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus, and particularly if clinical or microbiological evidence of S. aureus pneumonia exist. Further studies in HIV-infected children on CAP etiology and antibiotic treatment are required in the era of antiretroviral treatment.

Routine inpatient human immunodeficiency virus testing system increases access to pediatric human immunodeficiency virus care in sub-Saharan Africa

BACKGROUND

Routine Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) testing, called provider-initiated opt-out HIV testing and counseling (PITC), is recommended in African countries with high HIV prevalence. However, it is unknown whether PITC increases access to pediatric HIV care. In 2008, the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative implemented PITC (BIPAI-PITC) at a Malawian hospital. We sought to evaluate the influence of BIPAI-PITC, compared with nonroutine HIV testing (NRT), on pediatric HIV care access.

METHODS

Retrospective data from 7077 pediatric inpatients were collected during sequential 4-month periods of NRT and BIPAI-PITC. In-hospital and 1-year outcomes for 337 HIV-infected and HIV-exposed uninfected inpatients not previously enrolled in HIV care were analyzed to assess the clinical influence of each testing strategy.

RESULTS

During BIPAI-PITC, a greater proportion of all hospitalized children received HIV testing (81.0% vs. 33.3%, P < 0.001), accessed inpatient HIV-trained care (7.5% vs. 2.4%, P < 0.001), enrolled into an outpatient HIV clinic after discharge (3.2% vs. 1.3%, P < 0.001), and initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART) after hospitalization (1.1% vs. 0.6%, P = 0.010) compared with NRT. Additionally, BIPAI-PITC increased the proportion of hospitalized HIV-infected and HIV-exposed uninfected children receiving DNA polymerase chain reaction testing (73.5% vs. 35.2%, P < 0.001), but did not improve outpatient enrollment or ART initiation of identified HIV-infected patients.

CONCLUSIONS

BIPAI-PITC increases access to inpatient and outpatient pediatric HIV care for hospitalized children, including DNA polymerase chain reaction testing and ART. Broader implementation of BIPAI-PITC or similar approaches, along with more pediatric HIV-trained clinicians and improved defaulter-tracking methods, would improve pediatric HIV service utilization globally.