Pneumococcal infection among hospitalized Egyptian children. Issue 2 (June 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Draz, Iman H.; Halawa, Eman F.; Wahby, Ghada; Ismail, Dalia K.; Meligy, Bassant S.
• Is Part Of: Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association. Volume 90:Issue 2(2015:Jul.)
• Publication Date: 2015-06
• Subjects: Public health -- Periodicals; Public health; Periodicals; 362.105
• DOI: 10.1097/01.EPX.0000465234.31794.b1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0013-2446

Abstract

<abstract> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <sec> <title>Aim</title> <p>We aimed to describe the detection rate spectrum of clinical manifestations, and outcome of pneumococcal disease in children younger than 5 years admitted to the largest referral pediatric hospital in Egypt.</p> </sec> <sec> <title>Materials and methods</title> <p>This was a hospital-based study to detect laboratory-confirmed <italic>Streptococcus pneumoniae</italic> cases among children younger than 5 years. Data on demographic characteristics, clinical diagnosis, comorbidities, diagnostic tests, antibiotic resistance, and clinical outcome were collected during the study years from 2008 to 2011.</p> </sec> <sec> <title>Results</title> <p>During the 4-year study period, 22 018 cases younger than 5 years had cultures performed at Cairo University Pediatric Hospital microbiology laboratory. We estimated the annual detection rate of total <italic>Streptococcus pneumonia</italic> infection to be 54.5/100 000. The incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) was half the incidence of non-IPD (18.2 and 36.4/100 000, respectively). Infants of 1 year or younger were statistically more vulnerable to <italic>Streptococcus pneumonia</italic> infection compared with children between 1 and 5 years of age (annual rate: 110.5/100 000 and 21.6/100 000, respectively). The overall pneumococcal annual case fatality was 33.3% and was higher in IPD (75%) than in non-IPD (12.5%) cases. There was an obviously increasing trend of the pneumococcal detection rate throughout the 4 years of the study (<italic>P</italic><0.0001).</p> </sec> <sec> <title>Conclusion and recommendations</title> <p>Our results confirm the substantial and increasing pneumococcal infection, the emerging of multidrug resistant isolates, and the vulnerability of the younger age group and high-risk population, which calls for a national surveillance to inform policy and decision-making before national wide vaccine introduction.</p> </sec> </abstract>