Epidemiological profile of patients admitted to pediatrics with complicated pneumonia

Abstract

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are diseases that affect any segment of the respiratory tract for a period of up to 7 days. They are responsible for 25% of all illnesses and deaths among children in developing countries. On average, children in urban areas have 4 to 6 ARIs per year. Approximately 2-3% of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) progress to an infection of the lung parenchyma, of which 10-20% evolve to death. Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the main ARI of the lung parenchyma. CAP is characterized by the presence of signs and symptoms of pneumonia in a previously healthy child, due to an infection acquired outside the hospital. Complicated pneumonia is that which progresses with extensive consolidation, abscess, pleural effusion, pneumatocele and atelectasis 1 Pneumococcal infection is a prevalent cause worldwide, being responsible for significant morbidity and mortality rates , 2 which is evidenced by 800 thousand deaths in 2017, resulting in 15% of all deaths of children under 5 years of age in developing countries. In the context of Brazil, this disease is the main cause of preventable death in childhood. According to data from the Unified Health System in 2017, pneumonia was the second cause of hospitalization in 2017, being responsible for 14% of all hospitalizations. 1,2 Thus, the present study aims to carry out an epidemiological mapping outlining the number of children hospitalized for complicated pneumonia, with the aim of highlighting the epidemiological, individual, physical, socioeconomic and health characteristics of each individual, intervening more effectively to avoid negative outcomes of this disease, which is still a serious public health problem in developing countries. 2,3