Asma

The Open Infectious Diseases Journal, 2009, 3, 27-30

27

Open Access

Incidence of Hospitalization Due to Pneumonia in Children Aged Less than 3 Years
Gustavo Cillaa, Eider Oñateb, Eduardo G. Pérez-Yarzab, Agustin Noguésb and Emilio Pérez-Trallero*,a,c,d
a b c

Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital Donostia, San Sebastián, Spain Departamento de Pediatría, Hospital Donostia, SanSebastián, Spain

Departamento de Medicina preventiva y Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad del País Vasco, San Sebastián, Spain
d

CIBERES Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Respiratorias, San Sebastián, Spain
Abstract: Background: The aim of this study was to determine the hospitalization rate due to pneumonia in preschool children in our region and to compare therate found with those reported in the literature. Methods: We performed a prospective study between October 2004 and September 2006 in patients aged less than 3 years old in San Sebastian (Spain) and the surrounding region. All children admitted to hospital for radiologically-confirmed pneumonia (presence of lobar or segmental alveolar infiltrate, interstitial infiltrate and/or pleural effusion) wereincluded. Results: There were 116 episodes requiring hospitalization, representing an incidence of 6.4 cases/1000 inhabitants (6.2 in infants aged less than 1 year and 6.6 in children aged 12-35 months). Admission to the intensive care unit was required in 10.3% (12/116). Alveolar infiltrate was found on chest radiograph in 62.1% (72/116), ranging from 51.4% (19/37) in infants aged less than 1year and 69.6% (32/46) in children aged 24 months or more. Mortality at 30 days of admission was nil. Conclusion: The incidence of hospitalization due to community-acquired pneumonia in infants and children, as well as that of pneumonia with alveolar infiltrate, was high in our region. Evaluation of the potential utility of the new pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and the influenza vaccine forchildren should also take into account their effectiveness in preventing pneumonia in this age group.

Keywords: Childhood pneumonia, pneumonia with consolidation, hospitalization, pneumococcal vaccine, influenza vaccine. INTRODUCTION Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in childhood is one of the most important pediatric health problems and is the leading single cause of childhood mortality worldwide[1]. In developed countries, mortality from childhood CAP has decreased in the last few decades, but this disease continues to be a common cause of morbidity and hospitalization [2]. However, currently available data on the incidence of CAP in specific pediatric age groups and the hospitalization rate are scarce, both in Spain and elsewhere. A conjugate vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae, theleading cause of childhood pneumonia [2], became available at the beginning of the current decade and new prototypes with a larger number of serotypes are being developed [3]. In Spain, this vaccine was licensed at the end of 2001, and coverage in recent years has been estimated as being 50% of the target population [4]. Moreover, some countries have included vaccination against influenza, anothermajor cause of childhood CAP [5], in the pediatric population [6],
*Address correspondence to this author at the Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital Donostia, Aptdo de Correos 477, 20080 San Sebastián, Spain; Tel: +34943007046; Fax: +34943007470; E-mail: mikrobiol@terra.es 1874-2793/09

and its use will probably increase in the next few years. Therefore, data on the incidence of childhood CAPcausing hospitalization is required to serve as a reference for subsequent interventions or evaluation of the preventive measures adopted. The present population-based study aimed to determine the incidence of hospitalizations due to CAP in infants and children aged less than 3 years old over a 2-year period. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY This prospective study was performed in San Sebastián and...