Introduction: Pneumonia is the most serious inflammatory disease of the lower respiratory system caused by various microorganisms. It occurs in all age groups, more often in children aged 5 years and below, in children with chronic diseases and impairments of the immune status. The aim of this study was to present the epidemiological, etiological and clinical characteristics of pneumonia in hospitalized children. Patients and methods: We analyzed the epidemiological, etiological and clinical characteristics of pneumonia in 224 children hospitalized at the Pediatric hospital Tuzla during one year period with radiologically proven pneumonia. Results: Almost half of children with pneumonia (46.4%) were infants, and 82.1% of patients were under five years of age. The boys were leading in all age groups. Asignificant number of children had one or more predisposing risk factors. Clinical signs, gas analyses and pulse oximetry well correlated with hypoxemic type of respiratory failure. The most frequently isolated pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella sp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The average length of intensive treatment was 2.8 days and the average total length of treatment was 9.5 days. Conclusion: Pneumonia hospitalizations of children at the Pediatric Clinic Tuzla, showed the usual age and gender distribution. A significant number of children had underlying chronic diseases. Etiological characteristics emphasizing severity of disease and immune status of children. The management of pneumonia in children has to follow general pediatric principles, and special attention should be given to risk categories.
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Author Name: Devleta Hadzic, Evlijana Zulic
URL: View PDF
Keywords: characteristics; pneumonia hospitalization; children; etiology; prevalence
ISSN: 1452-662x
EISSN: 2217-8171
EOI/DOI: 10.5937/sanamed1501057H
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