Title Pneumonia in children admitted to the national referral hospital in Bhutan: A prospective cohort study.
Author Jullien, Sophie; Pradhan, Dinesh; Tshering, Tashi; Sharma, Ragunath; Dema, Kumbu; Garcia-Garcia, Selene; Ribo, Jose Luis; Munoz-Almagro, Carmen; Bassat, Quique
Journal Int J Infect Dis Publication Year/Month 2020-Jun
PMID 32283281 PMCID PMC7195124
Affiliation + expend 1.ISGlobal, Hospital Clinic - Universitat de Barcelona, carrer Rossello, 132, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH), Gongphel Lam, Thimphu, Bhutan. Electronic address: sophie.jullien@isglobal.org.

OBJECTIVES: The study aim was to describe the etiological profile and clinical characteristics of pneumonia among children hospitalized in Thimphu, Bhutan. METHODS: This prospective study enrolled children aged 2-59 months admitted to the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital with World Health Organization (WHO)-defined clinical pneumonia. Demographic and clinico-radiological data were collected through questionnaires, physical examination, and chest radiography. Blood samples and nasopharyngeal washing were collected for microbiological analysis including culture and molecular methods. RESULTS: From July 2017 to June 2018, 189 children were enrolled, of which 53.4% were infants. Pneumonia-related admissions were less frequent over the winter. Chest radiographies were obtained in 149 children; endpoints included pneumonia in 39 cases (26.2%), other infiltrates in 31 (20.8%), and were normal in 79 children (53.0%). Non-contaminated bacterial growth was detected in 8/152 (5.3%) blood cultures, with only two cases of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Viral detection in upper respiratory secretions was common, with at least one virus detected in 103/115 (89.6%). The three most-commonly isolated viruses were respiratory syncytial virus (52/115; 45.2%), rhinovirus (42/115; 36.5%), and human parainfluenza virus (19/115; 16.5%). A third of patients with viral infections showed mixed infections. Case fatality rate was 3.2% (6/189). CONCLUSION: Respiratory viral infections predominated among this cohort of WHO-defined clinical pneumonia cases, whereas bacterial aetiologies were uncommon, highlighting the epidemiologic transition that Bhutan seems to have reached.

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