title: Pneumonia: an eleven-year study in a pediatric practice.
abstract: Data from an 11-year study of acute lower respiratory tract illness were analyzed to provide added insight into the causes and patterns of occurrence of pneumonia in an outpatient pediatric population. Over 80% of all episodes of pneumonia occurred in children less than seven years of age; the peak attack rate was observed in 2-4-year-old children. A virus or Mycoplasma pneumoniae was isolated from 24% of children with pneumonia; 57% of all episodes occurred during outbreaks for which a viral or mycoplasmal cause could usually be identified. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza viruses types 1 and 3, adenoviruses, influenza A viruses and M. pneumoniae accounted for 86% of all isolates. Attack rates of pneumonia in preschool children were highest during periods of RSV and influenza A virus prevalence; M. pneumoniae was the most frequent isolate from school aged children. The data contained in this report augment the understanding of the causes of pneumonia in children and provide a data base for scientists interested in the prevention of lower respiratory tract illness in children.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D009177:Mycoplasma pneumoniae; D018184:Paramyxoviridae Infections / Q000150:complications; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D012136:Respiratory Syncytial Viruses; D018108:Respirovirus; D012621:Seasons; D012737:Sex Factors