Introduction:

Little attention has been given in the literature to community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children younger than 6 months.

Objectives:

To identify CAP cases in patients up to 6 months of age, analyze demographic, clinical and clinical course characteristics, and determine factors associated with severity.

Materials and methods:

Patients with CAP aged 6 months or younger, hospitalized between 2008 and 2019, were included. CAP was defined as the presence of respiratory symptoms and signs (fever, cough and / or respiratory distress) and evidence on chest radiography. of lung condensation. Demographic, clinical characteristics and factors associated with severity were analyzed.

Results:

Of 1582 CAP cases in the study period, 256 cases were identified in patients 6 months or younger. 23% of patients had a comorbidity. There was microbial isolation in 8% of cases, with Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae being the most frequent. One-hundred twenty-two patients (48%) required admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), of whom 88 (72%) required mechanical ventilation. Twenty-seven patients (10.5%) died. Of 94 patients younger than 3 months, 77 (82%) were hospitalized in the ICU, while the majority of those who did not require hospitalization were older than 3 months (p <0.001; OR 2.61, 95% CI 1.57-4.33).

Conclusions:

This study describes the severity of pneumonia in infants 6 months and younger. The proportion of patients requiring ICU hospitalization is high, as is mortality.

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