Staphylococcal Pneumonia in Childhood

Abstract

We studied the long-term prognosis of staphylococcal pneumonia in childhood by examining 36 children 22 to 49 months after the acute episode. We evaluated pulmonary function at rest and during exercise, the incidence of recurrent respiratory tract infections, the progress of growth, and the occurrence of residual roentgenographic abnormalities. Only one patient had chronic bronchitis and localized cylindrical bronchiectasis; the remaining 35 were free from respiratory symptoms or abnormal physical signs. Six children showed moderate decrease in weight in relation to age, but they all had a history of low caloric intake. Lung roentgenograms showed complete resolution of the pneumonia in almost all children. Pulmonary function was normal at rest and during exercise. This study confirms the excellent long-term prognosis of adequately treated staphylococcal pneumonia in children.We studied the long-term prog¬ nosis of staphylococcal pneu¬ monia in childhood. The literature in¬ cludes discussion of the acute prob¬ lems of the disease, ie, clinical findings, epidemiology, therapy, and course,1"15 but very few long-term ob¬ servations on sequelae have been pub¬ lished.1"17 This study was designed to eval¬ uate pulmonary function at rest and during exercise 22 to 49 months after acute staphylococcal pneumonia, the incidence of recurrent respiratory tract infections (pneumonia or bron¬ chitis or both), the progress of growth, and the occurrence of resid¬ ual roentgenographic abnormalities. The 36 children in the study were all admitted to the same hospital and re¬ ceived uniform therapy for the acute disease.

Infected Pneumatocele Following Anaerobic Pneumonia in Adult

“…A pulmonary pneumatocele can occur in association with acute pneumonia, and is almost transient as the lesions generally resolve spontaneously and completely without sequelae 1 , 2 , 5) . Pneumatoceles are differentiated from lung abscesses due to their tendency to rapidly change in appearance, size and location 1) .…”

“…In most circumstances, pneumatoceles are asymptomatic and do not require surgical intervention. The majority of pneumatoceles resolve spontaneously over weeks to months, and without significant clinical or radiographic sequelae 1 , 2) .…”

“…They can be single emphysematous lesion, but are more often multiple. Most often, they occur as a complication of acute pneumonia, commonly caused by Staphylococcus aureus 1 , 2) . However, pneumatoceles are also caused by other agents, including Streptoccus pneumoniae 3) , Haemophilus influenza 5) , Pseudomonas aeruginosa 5) , Escherichia coli 6) , Klebsiella pneumonia 5 , 6) , Mycobacterium tuberculosis 7) , Proteus mirabilis 8) , Serratia marcescens 6) and Pneumocystis jiroveci, 9) and also by trauma 10) and hydrocarbon-induced pneumonia 11) .…”

“…Pneumatocele is commonly seen in infants and young children as a complication of Staphylococcal pneumonia 1 , 2) . However, pneumatoceles are unusual found in adults with pneumonia 4) .…”