title: [Rapid differentiation between bacterial and atypical pneumonia in children].
abstract: We examined 116 children aged 3-7 years who were hospitalized in our Clinic during the period of one year. We observed certain clinical and laboratory parameters connected with chest X-rays. These parameters were necessary for fast distinguishing between bacterial and atypical pneumonia, in order to initiate an adequate antimicrobial therapy. The most important laboratory parameter for a fast diagnosis is CRP (reactant of acute phase of inflammation, which increases as soon as 6 to 12 hours from the beginning of the illness), and also important is: leukocyte count together with neutrophilia in differential count, which is also shown in our article. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate was moderately elevated in both bacterial and atypical pneumonia. However, the values were moderately higher in cases of bacterial pneumonia, especially in children who were hospitalized between the 2nd and the 5th day of the illness. Nevertheless, there was no correlation between the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and the type of the illness in children who were hospitalized on the first day of the illness. We conclude that CRP was the most useful parameter in fast distinguishing bacterial from atypical pneumonia.
authors.affiliation: Klinika za infektivne bolesti Dr. Fran Mihaljević Zagreb.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Benić
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Soljacić
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prazić
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011019:Pneumonia, Mycoplasma / Q000175:diagnosis*
vernacular_title: Mogućnosti brzog razvrstavanja bakterijskih od atipicnih pneumonija u djece.