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Most pneumonia hospitalizations occur in children aged younger than 5 years
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Seventy percent of pneumonia hospitalizations were among children aged younger than 5 years, according to study findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“Pneumonia puts thousands of young children in the hospital each year at a cost in the U.S. of about $1 billion, not to mention suffering of kids and hardship for their families,” CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, said in a press release. “This groundbreaking study shows how badly we need faster, less expensive diagnostic tests for doctors to accurately diagnose the cause of pneumonia so they can effectively treat it.”
Thomas R. Frieden
To estimate the burden of community-acquired pneumonia hospitalizations among children, Seema Jain, MD, of the CDC, and colleagues conducted viral and bacterial testing for respiratory pathogens among 2,638 children (median age, 2 years) from three children’s hospitals in Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; and Salt Lake City.
From January 2010 to June 2012, annual pneumonia incidence was estimated at 15.7 per 10,000 children. Children aged younger than 2 years had the highest incidence, at 62.2 cases per 10,000.
Eighty-nine percent of study participants had radiographically confirmed pneumonia; 21% required intensive care, and three children died.
A pathogen was detected in 81% of the children with radiographically confirmed pneumonia who had specimens available for bacterial and viral testing. One or more viruses were detected in 66% of these children.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was the most commonly detected viral pathogen (28%), followed by human rhinovirus (22%), human metapneumovirus (13%) and adenovirus (11%). Detected bacterial pathogens included Mycoplasma pneumoniae (8%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (4%).
RSV was detected in 37% of children with pneumonia aged younger than 5 years vs. 8% in older children, while adenovirus occurred in 15% of children aged younger than 5 years vs. 3% in older children. Human metapneumovirus also was more common in those younger vs older (15% vs. 8%).
Contrastingly, M. pneumoniae was observed in 3% of children aged younger than 5 years vs. 19% in older children.
“The data gathered from this study add to the evidence base that respiratory virus infections lead to pneumonia hospitalizations and complications in children,” Jain said in the release. “We hope this provides incentive for the continued and future development of effective treatments and vaccines against pathogens that do not have such countermeasures available.”
Disclosure: Jain reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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