Fatores associados às complicações em crianças pré-escolares com pneumonia adquirida na comunidade

Predictors of recovery time from severe community-acquired pneumonia among paediatrics patients in selected hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: an institution-based retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

Severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP) is a significant cause of morbidity worldwide and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Ethiopia ranks 6th out of 15 countries with the highest mortality rate due to pneumonia in children under 5 years of age. The aim of this study was to determine the recovery time from SCAP and factors in paediatric patients in selected hospitals in Addis Ababa.

DESIGN, PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 407 randomly selected paediatric patients admitted with SCAP in Addis Ababa public hospitals from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES

Recovery time and recovery rate from SCAP were estimated using Kaplan-Meier and simple frequency statistics, respectively, and the adjusted HR with a 95% CI was used to identify associated factors for recovery.

RESULTS

91.5% (95% CI: 88.3% to 94.1%) of children recovered from SCAP with an overall recovery rate of 11.5 (95% CI: 10.37 to 12.76) per 100 person-day observation, and the median recovery time was 6 days. In the multivariable analysis, older age and the absence of comorbidities were protective factors for early recovery, while stunting and late utilisation of medical care were risk factors.

CONCLUSION

The median recovery time after SCAP was very long compared with the optimal recovery time of 3 days given in the British Thoracic Society guidelines. Older age and absence of comorbidities were found to shorten recovery time, whereas stunting and late initiation of treatment delayed recovery. Therefore, measures that increase the recovery rate and shorten the recovery time, such as primary prevention to eliminate malnutrition and increase the utilisation of medical care in the community, should be strengthened, and health workers should focus on the early detection and treatment of comorbid diseases.

Frequency of Vitamin a Deficiency in Children Hospitalized for Pneumonia: An Integrative Review

Objective: To identify the frequency of vitamin A deficiency in children aged 6 months to 5 years hospitalized for pneumonia. Methods: An integrative literature review was carried out, where searches were made by two independent researchers, with no language limits or publication time in the databases PubMed, LILACS, Web of Science, Scopus and CINAHL, and in the gray literature-OpenGrey, Proquest and Google Scholar. In the eligibility phase, the screened studies were read in full and those that did not answer the research question were excluded. Methodological quality was assessed using the Downs & Black (1998) checklist. Results: 1642 articles were identified, after all stages of screening and selection, 10 studies were included, of which 5 were longitudinal, 4 were intervention and 1 transversal. All studies identified subclinical vitamin A deficiency in children hospitalized with pneumonia; the highest frequency of subclinical vitamin A deficiency was 93.2%. All studies evaluated showed frequencies of subclinical vitamin A deficiency >20%. Conclusion: There is a high frequency of subclinical vitamin A deficiency in children with pneumonia; these data need to be further explored in terms of their associations. For this reason, new studies that evaluate this topic are of fundamental importance.

Complications in community acquired pneumonia: magnitude of problem, risk factors, and management in pediatric age

Introduction: In the last decades, the large use of several effective vaccines has dramatically reduced the incidence of community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in infants and children. Moreover, the availability of new antibiotics effective against emerging resistant strains of bacteria has greatly improved the early and long-term prognosis of this disease.Areas covered: The aim of this manuscript is to evaluate the burden of complicated CAP in pediatric age and to discuss its appropriate management.Expert opinion: Complicated CAP remains a problem for children in industrialized and developing countries. A larger use of lung ultrasonography (US) as first diagnostic approach could significantly improve early identification of cases at higher risk of complications. Difficult to solve, is the problem of the use of an antibiotic therapy able to assure adequate control in all the CAP cases, including those at high risk of or with already established complications. All these findings reveal that control of the incidence of complicated CAP remains difficult and will not be significantly changed in the next few years. Any attempt to improve complicated CAP management must be made. Consensus documents on better definition of the use of corticosteroids, fibrinolytic agents, and interventional procedures (including surgery) can allow us to reach this goal.

Modified PIRO (predisposition, insult, response, organ dysfunction) severity score as a predictor for mortality of children with pneumonia in Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung, Indonesia

Background

Clinical manifestations for pneumonia vary from mild to severe. The PIRO model (predisposition, insult, response, organ dysfunction) was used as scoring system to determine severity of sepsis and pneumonia in adult patients. The PIRO model was modified for sorting the severity of pneumonia in children and predicting its risk of mortality.

Methods

An ambispective cohort study of pneumonia patients aged 1 month to ≤ 18 years admitted over the period from May to September 2020. Data were collected from history, physical examination, laboratory examination, and chest radiography. Based on bivariate analysis (p<0.05 and relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval), variables of each PIRO component that were significant for mortality were assigned a value of 1. The cut-off score for predictor of mortality was calculated using the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve and the scores were stratified into three degrees of risk based on interquartile range, score ≤Q1 was categorized as low risk; Q1-Q3 was categorized as moderate risk; and score >Q3 was categorized as high risk.

Results

Out of the 80 subjects enrolled, 6 months-5 years was the largest age group (56.3%). The observed mortality was 15/80 (18.8%). The modified PIRO severity score was compiled from significant variables of predisposition (malnutrition), insult (chest radiograph), response (hypoxemia, hypotension, CRP >0.5 mg/dL, PCT >0.5 ng/dL) and organ dysfunction, with range of score 0-7. Score >3 was categorized as a cut-off point score for predictor of mortality with AUC 0.919 (95% CI 0.836–0.968), sensitivity of 80%, and specificity of 84.62%. Subjects with score >3 have RR of 10.544 compared to those with score ≤3. The stratification of score level was low (≤2), moderate (3-4), and high (5-7). The mortality levels were 0%, 46.7%, and 53.3%, respectively.

Conclusions

Modified PIRO severity score can be used as a sorting tool and predictor of mortality risk in children with pneumonia. This score can also be used to select candidates for intensive care, especially in health facilities with limited intensive care capacity.

CLINICAL PROFILE OF CHILDREN WITH AND WITHOUT COMORBIDITIES HOSPITALIZED WITH COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED PNEUMONIA

OBJECTIVE

To describe the clinical profile of children and adolescents hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). They were divided into two groups: those with and those without comorbidities.

METHODS

An observational, cross-sectional, descriptive study with prospective data collection, was carried out in a cohort of patients aged zero to 11, who were hospitalized with a clinical and radiological diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia, from January 2010 to January 2012. As an exploratory study, the two groups were compared through logistic regression for possible risk factors associated with community-acquired pneumonia. Relative risk (RR) was used with a 95% confidence interval (95%CI). The process of selection for independent variables was stepwise forward, with a significance level of 5%.

RESULTS

There were 121 cases of community-acquired pneumonia evaluated, and 47.9% had comorbidities. In the bivariate analysis, patients with comorbidities demonstrated higher chances for: age >60 months (p=0.005), malnutrition (p=0.002), previous use of antibiotics (p=0.008) and previous hospitalization for community-acquired pneumonia in the last 24 months (p=0.004). In the multivariate analysis, these variables were independent predictors of community-acquired pneumonia in patients with the comorbidities: age >60 months (p=0.002; RR=5.39; 95%CI 1.89-15.40); malnutrition (p=0.008; RR=1.75; 95%CI 1.75-44.60); previous use of antibiotics (p=0.0013; RR=3.03; 95%CI 1.27-7.20); and previous hospitalization for community-acquired pneumonia (p=0.035; RR=2.91; 95%CI 1.08-7.90).

CONCLUSIONS

Most patients with community-acquired pneumonia and comorbidities were aged >60 months, were malnourished, had used antibiotics and had been hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia. Comorbidities were associated with a higher chance of malnutrition and hospitalizations for community-acquired pneumonia in an older age group, compared to children without comorbidities. Knowledge of this clinical profile may contribute to better assist pediatric patients with community-acquired pneumonia hospitalized in referral centers.

Social inequality and pneumonia hospitalization in children under five years of age in Maranhão, Brazil

Abstract Objectives: to describe the characteristics of pneumonia hospitalizations in children under five years of age across the State of Maranhão, Brazil, and explore patterns of spatial distribution of admissions. Methods: ecological study using data on occurrences (age, gender, skin color/race, month of occurrence, and municipality of residence) between 2012 and 2017 taken from the Unified Health System’s Hospital Information System and municipal level socioeconomic indicators for 2010. Each respiratory disease, including pneumonia, was presented as a percentage of overall admissions for respiratory tract diseases, together with the monthly distribution of admissions as a percentage of total annual cases, and annual rate of admissions by gender. The General G* statistic was calculated to identify significant clustering of municipalities with similar proportions of hospital admissions for pneumonia relative to overall hospital admissions. Results: pneumonia was the leading cause of admissions for respiratory disease, accounting for 57% of all cases and occurring with greater frequency in the rainy season (February to June) and in cities with lower socioeconomic indicator values. The rate of admissions decreased over the study period. Significant clusters (p<0.05) of municipalities with high proportions of hospital admissions for pneumonia relative to overall hospital admissions occurred predominantly in the south of the state, while clusters with low propor-tions were located mainly in and around the metropolitan region of the state capital São Luís. Conclusions: pneumonia was shown to be a key cause of hospitalization in children and its distribution was associated with contextual socioeconomic factors, reflecting the quality of life and health status of children in Maranhão.

Determinants of Under-Five Pneumonia at Gondar University Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia: An Unmatched Case-Control Study

Background

Pneumonia causes about two million under-five deaths each year, accounting for nearly one in five child deaths globally. Knowing the determinants of under-five pneumonia is useful for prevention and intervention programs that are aimed to control the disease. Thus, the main aim of this study was to assess the determinants of under-five pneumonia at Gondar University Hospital, Ethiopia.

Methods

An institution-based unmatched case-control study was carried out from April 1 to April 30, 2015, taking a sample size of 435 study participants (145 cases and 290 controls). The researchers used a systematic random sampling technique for selecting cases and controls. Data were entered and cleaned using Epi Info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariable analysis was performed, and variables with a p value less than 0.2 were entered into multivariable logistic regression. Determinant factors were identified based on p value less than 0.05 and adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (AOR with 95% CI).

Results

An increased odds of pneumonia was associated with children who had diarrhea in the past fifteen days of data collection (AOR = 6.183; 95% CI: 3.482, 10.977), children's mothers who did not hear about how to handle domestic smoking (AOR = 5.814; 95% CI: 2.757, 12.261), and children of mothers who did not follow proper handwashing practice (AOR = 3.469; 95% CI: 1.753, 6.863).

Conclusions

Being infected with diarrhea, not knowing how to handle domestic smoking, and poor compliance with proper handwashing practice were identified as determinants of pneumonia. Dedicated, coordinated, and integrated intervention needs to be taken to enhance proper handwashing practice by mothers/caregivers, improve the indoor air quality, and prevent diarrheal diseases at the community level.

Distribuição espacial das taxas de internação de crianças por pneumonia no Sistema Único de Saúde, nos municípios do estado de São Paulo

RESUMO: Objetivo: Identificar padrões espaciais na distribuição das taxas de internação de crianças por pneumonia no estado de São Paulo, no período de 2009 a 2013. Métodos : Estudo ecológico exploratório com dados obtidos do Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde (DATASUS) de internações por pneumonia em crianças relativas aos municípios do estado de São Paulo de 2009 a 2013, dados de escolaridade materna e renda familiar; e foram criadas taxas por mil crianças e inseridas numa base digital de municípios obtida do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Foram construídos mapas temáticos, de Kernel e de Moran para as taxas de internação e calculados os índices de Moran. Foi utilizado o programa TerraView para a análise espacial. Resultados : Foram internadas 43.809 crianças no período. A taxa média por município foi de 11,51 (DP = 8,62). O índice de Moran foi de 0,21 (p = 0,01). Há aglomerados nas regiões norte, noroeste, centro-oeste e sudoeste; o mapa de Kernel mostra densidade maior de taxas no noroeste e centro-oeste do estado; e o mapa de Moran identificou 39 municípios que merecem atenção por parte dos gestores municipais e regionais. Conclusões : O geoprocessamento permitiu identificar regiões com maiores taxas de internação por pneumonia e também municípios que merecem prioridade de intervenção.

Community-acquired Pneumonia With Pleural Effusion in Children and Municipal Human Development Index in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

BACKGROUND

This study evaluated admissions with severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) with pleural effusion (PE) in a pediatric university hospital and the impact of the increased average municipal human development index (M-HDI) in the local incidence of the disease in the last decade.

METHODS

This is a retrospective longitudinal study of patients (0-13 years old) with CAP. The municipal human development index (M-DHI) of the place of residence of patients was obtained. We calculate the crude odds ratios (ORs) of variables related to risk of developing PE. The variables that reached a significance level of 80% (P < 0.20) were selected for multivariate analysis. The logistic regression model was used for the selection of the parsimonious model, according to the likelihood ratio.

RESULTS

The 465 patients' ages ranged from 1 to 174 months. The median of age (months) in children with PE was 36.00; in children without the PE was 29.00 (P < 0.011); media of variation in M-HDI in the period in patients with PE was 0.767 ± 0.002 and in patients without PE was 0.778 ± 0.002 (P < 0.001). In the logistic regression model, the absence of comorbidity (OR = 2.909) and the HDI < 0.770 (OR = 3.015) were predictive factors associated with PE.

CONCLUSION

The progressive increase of the M-DHI during the study period, although to a slightly higher level, was correlated with the reduction in the number of admissions with CAP with PE.

Necrotizing pneumonia: an emerging problem in children?

BACKGROUND

In children, necrotizing pneumonia (NP) is an uncommon, severe complication of pneumonia. It is characterized by destruction of the underlying lung parenchyma resulting in multiple small, thin-walled cavities and is often accompanied by empyema and bronchopleural fistulae.

REVIEW

NP in children was first reported in children in 1994, and since then there has been a gradual increase in cases, which is partially explained by greater physician awareness and use of contrast computed tomography (CT) scans, and by temporal changes in circulating respiratory pathogens and antibiotic prescribing. The most common pathogens detected in children with NP are pneumococci and Staphylococcus aureus. The underlying disease mechanisms are poorly understood, but likely relate to multiple host susceptibility and bacterial virulence factors, with viral-bacterial interactions also possibly having a role. Most cases are in previously healthy young children who, despite adequate antibiotic therapy for bacterial pneumonia, remain febrile and unwell. Many also have evidence of pleural effusion, empyema, or pyopneumothorax, which has undergone drainage or surgical intervention without clinical improvement. The diagnosis is generally made by chest imaging, with CT scans being the most sensitive, showing loss of normal pulmonary architecture, decreased parenchymal enhancement and multiple thin-walled cavities. Blood culture and culture and molecular testing of pleural fluid provide a microbiologic diagnosis in as many as 50% of cases. Prolonged antibiotics, draining pleural fluid and gas that causes mass effects, and maintaining ventilation, circulation, nutrition, fluid, and electrolyte balance are critical components of therapy. Despite its serious nature, death is uncommon, with good clinical, radiographic and functional recovery achieved in the 5-6 months following diagnosis. Increased knowledge of NP's pathogenesis will assist more rapid diagnosis and improve treatment and, ultimately, prevention.

CONCLUSION

It is important to consider that our understanding of NP is limited to individual case reports or small case series, and treatment data from randomized-controlled trials are lacking. Furthermore, case series are retrospective and usually confined to single centers. Consequently, these studies may not be representative of patients in other locations, especially when allowing for temporal changes in pathogen behaviour and differences in immunization schedules and antibiotic prescribing practices.

Risk factors for local complications in children with community-acquired pneumonia

AIM

The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors that could predict the development of local complications (parapneumonic effusion/pleural empyema, necrotizing pneumonia, and lung abscess) in children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

METHODS

Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were prospectively collected and compared in children with noncomplicated and complicated CAP.

RESULTS

Two-hundred and three patients aged from 2 months to 17 years were enrolled. There were 141 and 62 children with noncomplicated and complicated CAP, respectively. Significantly longer duration of fever and a higher level of acute phase reactants were demonstrated in complicated when noncomplicated to complicated CAP. Asymmetric chest pain as well as prehospital treatment with ibuprofen and acetaminophen were significantly more common in patients with complicated CAP (P < .001, P = .02 and P = .003, respectively). Preadmission cumulative dose of ibuprofen exceeding 78.3 mg/kg (median dose for the entire group) was associated with 2.5-fold higher odds ratio (OR) for CAP complications [OR 2.54 CI (1.31-4.94); P = .008)]. In contrast, pneumococcal vaccination was associated with lower odds ratio [OR.03 CI (.23-.89); P = .03] for local complications.

CONCLUSIONS

Some clinical and laboratory data including chest pain, longer duration of fever, higher acute phase reactants, and especially preadmission treatment with ibuprofen or acetaminophen were associated with local complications of CAP. The results of this study highlight the association between the dose of ibuprofen and local CAP complications.

Prescription of antibiotics in community-acquired pneumonia in children: are we following the recommendations?

OBJECTIVE

To assess the adequacy of antibiotic prescription in children hospitalized for pneumonia in a reference pediatric hospital in Brazil.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study involving children aged between 1 month and 5 years who were hospitalized between October 2010 and September 2013. The classification of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) was based on the clinical and radiological criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO). The analysis of antibiotic adequacy was performed according to the main guidelines on CAP treatment, which include the WHO guidelines, Brazilian Society of Pediatrics guidelines, and international guidelines (Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Society, the Infectious Disease Society of America, British Thoracic Society, and Consenso de la Sociedad latinoamericana de Infectología). A multivariate analysis was performed including variables that have statistical significance of P≤0.25 in the bivariate analysis.

RESULTS

The majority of the 452 hospitalized children were classified as having severe or very severe CAP (85.18%), and inadequate empiric antimicrobial therapy was started in 26.10% (118/452) of them. Ampicillin was the most used empiric antibiotic therapy (62.17%) for pneumonia, followed by a combination of ampicillin and associated with gentamicin. The initially proposed regimen was modified in 29.6% of the patients, and the most frequent change was the replacement of ampicillin by oxacillin combined with chloramphenicol. The median hospitalization time was 8.5 days, and the lethality rate was 1.55%. There was no statistical difference in adequacy in relation to the severity of pneumonia or degree of malnutrition. In the bivariate analysis, inadequacy of antibiotic therapy regimen was higher in patients undergoing oxygen therapy (P<0.05), which was given to 219 patients (48.45%). Pleural effusion was observed in 118 patients (26.11%) and was associated with higher prescription inadequacy, and it was the only factor that remained in the multivariate analysis (odds ratio =8.89; 95% confidence interval 5.20-15.01).

CONCLUSION

Adherence to the main guidelines for antimicrobial therapy according to the childhood CAP was unsatisfactory. Compliance with the guidelines is essential for both the management of pneumonia cases and the decrease in bacterial resistance and it is one of the cornerstone of WHO police of controlling antibiotic resistance.

Thoracic block technique associated with positive end-expiratory pressure in reversing atelectasis

A preschool four-year-old male patient had been admitted to the Mandaqui Hospital with a diagnosis of lobar pneumonia, pleural effusion, and right lung atelectasis. Treatment consisted of antibiotics and physiotherapy sessions, using a technique described in the literature as Insufflation Technique to Reverse Atelectasis (ITRA), which consists of a thoracic block of healthy lung tissue, leaving only the atelectasis area free, associated with the use of invasive or noninvasive mechanical ventilation with positive airway pressure for reversal of atelectasis. Two physiotherapy sessions were conducted daily. The sessions lasted 20 minutes and were fractionated into four series of five minutes each. Each series bilateral thoracic block was performed for 20 seconds with a pause lasting for the same time. Associated with the thoracic block, a continuous positive airways pressure was used using a facial mask and 7 cm H2O PEEP provided via CPAP. Conclusion. ITRA technique was effective in reversing atelectasis in this patient.

Empyema and bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia in children under five years of age

We compared bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia (BPP) and pneumococcal empyema (PE), in terms of clinical, radiological, and laboratory findings, in under-fives. A cross-sectional nested cohort study, involving under-fives (102 with PE and 128 with BPP), was conducted at 12 centers in Argentina, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic. Among those with PE, mean age was higher; disease duration was longer; and tachypnea, dyspnea, and high leukocyte counts were more common. Among those with BPP, fever and lethargy were more common. It seems that children with PE can be distinguished from those with BPP on the basis of clinical and laboratory findings. Because both conditions are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality, prompt diagnosis is crucial.