Chest X-ray-confirmed pneumonia in children in Fiji

• Main Authors: H.C. Magree (Author), F.M. Russell (Author), R. Sa'aga (Author), P. Greenwood (Author), L. Tikoduadua (Author), J. Pryor (Author), L. Waqatakirewa (Author), J.R. Carapetis (Author), E.K. Mulholland (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: The World Health Organization, 2005-06-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 0042-9686
• Keywords: Neumonía neumocócica; Neumonía neumocócica; Pulmón; Infecciones del tracto respiratorio; Infecciones del tracto respiratorio; Estudios retrospectivos; Niño; Fiji; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Vol 83, Iss 6, Pp 427-433 (2005)

OBJECTIVE: To calculate the incidence and document the clinical features of chest X-ray- (CXR-) confirmed pneumonia in children aged between 1 month and 5 years living in Greater Suva, Fiji. METHODS: A retrospective review was undertaken of children aged between 1 month and 5 years with a discharge diagnosis suggesting a lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) admitted to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva, Fiji, in the first 10 days of each month from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2002. Clinical data were collected and CXRs were reread and classified according to WHO standardized criteria for CXR-confirmed pneumonia. FINDINGS: Two hundred and forty-eight children with LRTI met the inclusion criteria. CXRs were obtained for 174 (70%) of these cases, of which 59 (34%) had CXR-confirmed pneumonia. The annual incidence of CXR-confirmed pneumonia was 428 cases per 100 000 children aged between 1 month and 5 years living in Greater Suva. If a similar proportion of the children for whom CXRs were unavailable were assumed to have CXR-confirmed pneumonia, the incidence was 607 per 100 000. The incidence appeared to be higher in Melanesian Fijian than Indo-Fijian children. The case-fatality rate was 2.8% in all children with LRTI, and 6.8% in those with CXR-confirmed pneumonia. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to document the incidence of CXR-confirmed pneumonia in a Pacific Island country, and demonstrates a high incidence. A significant proportion of hospital admissions of children with LRTI are likely to be preventable by the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.