title: Etiology of community-acquired pneumonia in hospitalized children based on WHO clinical guidelines.
abstract: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a major cause of death in developing countries and of morbidity in developed countries. The objective of the study was to define the causative agents among children hospitalized for CAP defined by WHO guidelines and to correlate etiology with clinical severity and surrogate markers. Investigations included an extensive etiological workup. A potential causative agent was detected in 86% of the 99 enrolled patients, with evidence of bacterial (53%), viral (67%), and mixed (33%) infections. Streptococcus pneumoniae was accounted for in 46% of CAP. Dehydration was the only clinical sign associated with bacterial pneumonia. CRP and PCT were significantly higher in bacterial infections. Increasing the number of diagnostic tests identifies potential causes of CAP in up to 86% of children, indicating a high prevalence of viruses and frequent co-infections. The high proportion of pneumococcal infections re-emphasizes the importance of pneumococcal immunization.
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Department, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland. manon.cevey-macherel@chuv.ch
authors.forename: Manon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cevey-Macherel
authors.forename: Annick
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galetto-Lacour
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gervaix
authors.forename: Claire-Anne
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Siegrist
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bille
authors.forename: Béatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bescher-Ninet
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Jean-Daniel
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Krahenbuhl
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gehri
mesh_terms: D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D002675:Child, Preschool; D023521:Chlamydophila Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D016993:Chlamydophila pneumoniae; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011019:Pneumonia, Mycoplasma / Q000453:epidemiology; D011018:Pneumonia, Pneumococcal / Q000453:epidemiology; D011024:Pneumonia, Viral / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014944:World Health Organization
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein