title: The Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health Project: a 21st century childhood pneumonia etiology study.
abstract: The Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) project is a 7-country, standardized, comprehensive evaluation of the etiologic agents causing severe pneumonia in children from developing countries. During previous etiology studies, between one-quarter and one-third of patients failed to yield an obvious etiology; PERCH will employ and evaluate previously unavailable innovative, more sensitive diagnostic techniques. Innovative and rigorous epidemiologic and analytic methods will be used to establish the causal association between presence of potential pathogens and pneumonia. By strategic selection of study sites that are broadly representative of regions with the greatest burden of childhood pneumonia, PERCH aims to provide data that reflect the epidemiologic situation in developing countries in 2015, using pneumococcal and Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccines. PERCH will also address differences in host, environmental, and/or geographic factors that might determine pneumonia etiology and, by preserving specimens, will generate a resource for future research and pathogen discovery.
authors.affiliation: Department of International Health, International Vaccine Access Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. olevine@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Orin S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Katherine L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deloria-Knoll
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Murdoch
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Feikin
authors.forename: Andrea N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: DeLuca
authors.forename: Amanda J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Driscoll
authors.forename: Henry C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Baggett
authors.forename: W Abdullah
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: Stephen R C
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Howie
authors.forename: Karen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Kotloff
authors.forename: Shabir A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Madhi
authors.forename: Susan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Maloney
authors.forename: Samba
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sow
authors.forename: Donald M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Thea
authors.forename: J Anthony
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Scott
mesh_terms: D002669:Child Welfare; D002673:Child, Hospitalized; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D003906:Developing Countries; D015340:Epidemiologic Research Design; D005843:Geography; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D019741:Haemophilus influenzae type b / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012307:Risk Factors; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*