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Published on: February 23, 2014
Frequency of bronchopneumonia in children with survival interval before death
1Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina 27834, USA.
Insights
Bronchopneumonia is often a consequence, not a cause, of critical illness in children. This study suggests that pneumonia develops after collapse, rather than initiating the collapse itself.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric critical care medicine
- Pathology
Background:
- Many children presenting with severe illness (in extremis) do not survive.
- Some survivors develop bronchopneumonia, raising questions about its role as a cause or consequence of collapse.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether bronchopneumonia is a cause or consequence of collapse in critically ill children.
- To analyze the timing of bronchopneumonia development in relation to the primary cause of collapse.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study was conducted on 156 deceased children.
- Children were divided into two groups: head injury (80) and other causes of death (76).
- The presence and timing of bronchopneumonia were assessed in relation to survival intervals.
Main Results:
- Bronchopneumonia was found in 43 of 156 children.
- Of 76 children who survived more than a day, 39 had bronchopneumonia.
- Of children surviving less than a day, only 4 had bronchopneumonia, with just 1 linked to head injury.
Conclusions:
- Bronchopneumonia is more likely to develop after collapse in critically ill children.
- The findings suggest bronchopneumonia is a consequence of critical illness, not the primary cause of collapse.
Abstract:
Many children do not survive after presentation in extremis. Some survive varying intervals and are found to have bronchopneumonia at death. The question is raised whether bronchopneumonia is a consequence of survival rather than the initiating disease leading to collapse. A prospective study of the deaths of 156 children divided them into two groups: 80 children with head injury and 76 with causes of death other than sudden infant death syndrome. In 43 of the total group of children, bronchopneumonia was found. In the total group, 76 survived more than a day. Of these 39 had bronchopneumonia, 32 died of head injury, and 7 had other causes of death. Of the children surviving less than a day, 4 had bronchopneumonia at death--only 1 with head injury. If bronchopneumonia is present, it is more likely to have developed after the collapse than to have caused it in this population.
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