Assessment of two years in the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia in pediatric patients

Abstract

Background: the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia is an unresolved problem. Due to difficulties in the interpretation of chest X-rays and the lack of clinical manifestations in the patients, antimicrobial treatment is often indicated.

Objective: to assess the quality of the diagnosis of children suffering from pneumonia admitted to the respiratory disease service of the "Aleida Fernández Chardiet" General Teaching Hospital, of the municipality of Güines, province of Mayabeque.

Methods: a longitudinal, prospective and descriptive study was carried out with the aforementioned pediatric patients admitted to the previously declared hospital from January 2014 to December 2015. The study universe was the total number of patients admitted with this diagnosis, 703.

Results: 73,5 % of the children were male and 49,1 % were under one year of age. Upon admission, 59,7 % presented normal chest X-ray and 56,9 % had no clinical signs. Hilar thickening (35 %) and a poor technique (29,5 %) were the most frequent radiological features. The antibiotic treatment was suspended in 62,8 % of the patients with normal X-ray and without clinical signs of pneumonia, out of which 96,4 % progressed satisfactorily.

Conclusions: pneumonia predominated in male children younger than one year of age; more than half of the patients had normal chest x-ray upon admission and without clinical signs, indicative of an inadequate diagnosis. Patients whose antibiotic treatment was suspended progressed satisfactorily.