
Vitamin D as an adjunct to antibiotics for the treatment of acute childhood pneumonia.
The Cochrane database of systematic reviews
BACKGROUND:Children with acute pneumonia may be vitamin D deficient. Clinical trials have found that prophylactic vitamin D supplementation decreases children's risk of developing pneumonia. Data on the therapeutic effects of vitamin D in acute childhood pneumonia are limited. This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2018. OBJECTIVES:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of vitamin D supplementation as an adjunct to antibiotics for the treatment of acute childhood pneumonia. SEARCH METHODS:We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, and two trial registries on 28 December 2021. We applied no language restrictions. SELECTION CRITERIA:We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared vitamin D supplementation with placebo in children (aged one month to five years) hospitalised with acute community-acquired pneumonia, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) acute respiratory infection guidelines. For this update, we reappraised eligible trials according to research integrity criteria, excluding RCTs published from April 2018 that were not prospectively registered in a trials registry according to WHO or Clinical Trials Registry - India (CTRI) guidelines (it was not mandatory to register clinical trials in India before April 2018). DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS:Two review authors independently assessed trials for inclusion and extracted data. For dichotomous data, we extracted the number of participants experiencing the outcome and the total number of participants in each treatment group. For continuous data, we used the arithmetic mean and standard deviation (SD) for each treatment group together with number of participants in each group. We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. MAIN RESULTS:In this update, we included three new trials involving 468 children, bringing the total number of trials to seven, with 1601 children (631 with pneumonia and 970 with severe or very severe pneumonia). We categorised three previously included studies and three new studies as 'awaiting classification' based on the research integrity screen. Five trials used a single bolus dose of vitamin D (300,000 IU in one trial and 100,000 IU in four trials) at the onset of illness or within 24 hours of hospital admission; one used a daily dose of oral vitamin D (1000 IU for children aged up to one year and 2000 IU for children aged over one year) for five days; and one used variable doses (on day 1, 20,000 IU in children younger than six months, 50,000 IU in children aged six to 12 months, and 100,000 IU in children aged 13 to 59 months; followed by 10,000 IU/day for four days or until discharge). Three trials performed microbiological diagnosis of pneumonia, radiological diagnosis of pneumonia, or both. Vitamin D probably has little or no effect on the time to resolution of acute illness (mean difference (MD) -1.28 hours, 95% confidence interval (CI) -5.47 to 2.91; 5 trials, 1188 children; moderate-certainty evidence). We do not know if vitamin D has an effect on the duration of hospitalisation (MD 4.96 hours, 95% CI -8.28 to 18.21; 5 trials, 1023 children; very low-certainty evidence). We do not know if vitamin D has an effect on mortality rate (risk ratio (RR) 0.69, 95% CI 0.44 to 1.07; 3 trials, 584 children; low-certainty evidence). The trials reported no major adverse events. According to GRADE criteria, the evidence was of very low-to-moderate certainty for all outcomes, owing to serious trial limitations, inconsistency, indirectness, and imprecision. Three trials received funding: one from the New Zealand Aid Corporation, one from an institutional grant, and one from multigovernment organisations (Bangladesh, Sweden, and UK). The remaining four trials were unfunded. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS:Based on the available evidence, we are uncertain whether vitamin D supplementation has important effects on outcomes of acute pneumonia when used as an adjunct to antibiotics. The trials reported no major adverse events. Uncertainty in the evidence is due to imprecision, risk of bias, inconsistency, and indirectness.
10.1002/14651858.CD011597.pub3
Lung Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Pneumonia in Children-A Metaanalysis and a Review of Pediatric Lung Imaging.
Najgrodzka Paulina,Buda Natalia,Zamojska Anna,Marciniewicz Ewelina,Lewandowicz-Uszyńska Aleksandra
Ultrasound quarterly
BACKGROUND:Pneumonia is one of the most frequent widespread and severe infectious diseases in pediatric patients worldwide. Pneumonia is characterized by high incidence and possibility of complications in the course of the disease in pediatric patients. For this reason, there is a need to have a rapid and safe diagnostic method to recognize it. Imaging diagnostic tools, such as x-ray examinations, necessitate caution while using these methods. To date, there have been lots of studies with the aim to determine the role of lung ultrasonography (LUS) in the diagnosis of inflammatory lesions in children. Our aim was to assess the accuracy of the LUS as diagnostic method of pneumonia in children by making a systematic research of literature. OBJECTIVES:This work is a review of available literature and studies on LUS in pneumonia in children and summary of necessary information about the usefulness of LUS and sonographic findings to diagnose pneumonia in the pediatric population. METHODS:We searched the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE, and Ovid. The following key words were used: pediatrics, pneumonia, ultrasound, chest x-ray, and LUS. RESULTS:The total search results amounted to 1987. From 1987 potentially eligible studies, 19 were included, and 3 were meta-analysis. We studied and performed the statistical analysis of the results publication. CONCLUSIONS:As a result of the analysis, a significant advantage of the ultrasound examination in comparison with the x-ray study was demonstrated. Lung ultrasound could be a safe diagnostic method for this reason.
10.1097/RUQ.0000000000000411
Clinical features of pneumonia with adenovirus infection in children.
Peng Li,Zhong Li-Li,Huang Zhen,Li Yan,Zhang Bing
Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics
OBJECTIVES:To study the clinical features of pneumonia (MPP) with adenovirus (ADV) infection in children. METHODS:A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 228 children with MPP alone and 28 children with MPP and ADV infection. The two groups were compared in terms of clinical features, laboratory results, and treatment outcome. RESULTS:Compared with the MPP group, the MPP+ADV group had significantly longer duration of fever and length of hospital stay, a significantly higher proportion of patients with severe lesions (erosion and exfoliation) of the airway mucosa under bronchoscopy, a significantly higher clinical pulmonary infection score, and a significantly higher proportion of patients requiring oxygen therapy (<0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups in white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, DNA copy number in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and the incidence rates of pleural effusion and extrapulmonary complications (>0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Compared with children with MPP alone, children with MPP and ADV infection tend to have more severe clinical manifestations and airway mucosal lesions and are more likely to require oxygen therapy, but most of the laboratory markers lack specificity.
10.7499/j.issn.1008-8830.2107080
Surfactant protein D: a predictor for severity of community-acquired pneumonia in children.
Pediatric research
BACKGROUND:Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is a promising biomarker proposed for the prediction of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) severity. Therefore, we aimed to assess the role of SP-D in the prediction of CAP severity in pediatric patients. METHODS:A prospective cohort study was carried out at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and wards of Menoufia University Hospital. We recruited 112 children admitted into wards with pneumonia (simple pneumonia) and 68 children admitted into PICU with severe pneumonia (PICU admitted). World Health Organization (WHO) classification and mortality predictive scores were calculated to determine the severity of pneumonia for the two groups, including the Pediatric Respiratory Severity Score (PRESS) and the Predisposition, Insult, Response, and Organ dysfunction modified Score (PIROm). SP-D was measured at admission. RESULTS:The SP-D level was significantly lower in patients with simple pneumonia than in patients with severe pneumonia (P < 0.001). SP-D was significantly higher among children with severe pneumonia, as determined by WHO, PRESS, and PIROm (P = 0.001). SP-D was significantly higher among children with mechanical ventilation, shock, hypoxia, sepsis, and mortality. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for SP-D showed that the area under the curve was 0.741 (P value < 0.001), with a sensitivity of 85.3% and a specificity of 44.6%. CONCLUSIONS:Serum SP-D level has a predictive value for the detection of community-acquired pneumonia severity in children. IMPACT:SP-D is a good predictor for the detection of CAP severity in hospitalized children. SP-D was correlated with severity scores and was associated with indicators of CAP severity, including mechanical ventilation, shock, hypoxia, sepsis, and mortality.
10.1038/s41390-021-01492-9