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Table 1 Clinical characteristics of the children hospitalised due to severe versus non-severe pneumonia at Panzi Hospital, Bukavu, DR Congo between June 2015 and June 2017 (n = 116)

From: Bacteria and viruses in the upper respiratory tract of Congolese children with radiologically confirmed pneumonia

Factors

 

All cases

n = 116 (%)

Severe pneumonia

n = 85 (%)

Non-severe pneumonia

n = 31 (%)

Univariable analysis

p-value

Location of residence

Bukavu urban area1

95 (82)

69 (81)

26 (84)

0.73

Bukavu rural area1

21 (18)

16 (19)

5 (16)

0.73

Sex

Boys

61 (53)

43 (51)

18 (58)

0.47

Girls

55 (47)

42 (49)

13 (42)

0.47

Age in months

Median [IQR]2

12 [8–36]

13 [8–36]

12 [9–36]

0.98

 ≤ 6

26 (22)

10 (12)

6 (19)

0.29

 > 6–12

32 (28)

30 (35)

12 (39)

0.73

 > 12–24

23 (20)

19 (22)

4 (13)

0.26

 > 24–36

14 (12)

12 (14)

2 (7)

0.27

 > 36–60

21 (18)

14 (16)

7 (23)

0.45

Undernutrition3

 

11 (9)

10 (12)

1 (3)

0.19

Other diseases4

 

9 (8)

8 (9)

1 (3)

0.29

PCV13 vaccination5

(2 or 3 doses)

78 (67)

55 (65)

23 (74)

0.33

Gastro-intestinal symptoms6

 

30 (26)

21 (25)

9 (29)

0.63

White cells count7 (cells/μL)

Median [IQR]

16 [14–20]

17 [14–20]

16 [13–17]

0.018

4000–15,000

48 (41)

29 (34)

9 (29)

0.60

 > 15,000–20,000

54 (47)

35 (41)

19 (61)

0.58

 > 20,000

23 (20)

21 (25)

2 (7)

0.043

C-Reactive Protein8 (mg/dL)

Median [IQR]

64 [28–64]

78 [24–84]

23 [22–69]

0.0004

 < 25

46 (40)

25 (29)

21 (68)

0.0003

25–75

21 (18)

12 (14)

9 (29)

0.07

 > 75

49 (42)

48 (56)

1 (3)

0.0004

Pre-hospitalisation antibiotic treatment

No antibiotic

15 (13)

6 (7)

9 (29)

0.003

Amoxicillin, ampicillin or phenoxymethylpenicillin

68 (59)

49 (58)

19 (61)

0.72

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole

23 (20)

21 (25)

2 (6)

0.043

Other antibiotics9

10 (9)

9 (11)

1 (3)

0.23

Antibiotic treatment during hospital stay

Ampicillin and gentamicin

46 (40)

25 (29)

4 (13)

0.07

Ceftriaxone and

gentamicin

62 (53)

53 (62)

9 (29)

0.002

Others10

8 (7)

7 (8)

1 (3)

0.36

Nasal oxygen therapy

 

100 (86)

79 (93)

21 (68)

0.001

Duration of hospital stay (days)

Median [IQR]

5 [5–8]

5 [5–8]

5 [4, 5]

0.0001

1–5

70 (60)

44 (52)

26 (84)

0.003

 > 5–10 days

38 (33)

34 (40)

4 (13)

0.009

 > 10 days

8 (7)

7 (8)

1 (3)

0.36

Outcome

Improved

104 (90)

74 (87)

30 (97)

0.16

Dead

11 (9)

10 (12)

1 (3)

0.19

Complications

1 (1)

1 (1)

0 (0)

-

  1. 1Bukavu urban area (n = 95): Ibanda area, n = 80; Kadutu area, n = 13; and Bagira, n = 2
  2. 2IQR interquartile range
  3. 3Undernutrition defined as weight for age or weight for height as a Z score ≤ -2 standard deviations, determined by ENA for smart software 2011
  4. 4Other diseases (Congenital and others): sickle cell disease (n = 2), congenital cardiac disorder (n = 1), cerebral palsy (n = 2), Down syndrome (n = 1), and HIV (n = 3)
  5. 5PCV13 = the 13-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine
  6. 6Gastro-intestinal symptoms: diarrhoea or vomiting
  7. 7The normal range of White cells count is 4000–10,000 cells/μL
  8. 8The normal value for C-Reactive Protein is < 10 mg/dL
  9. 9Other antibiotics (pre-hospitalisation antibiotic treatment): erythromycin (n = 5), ciprofloxacin (n = 3) or cloxacillin (n = 2)
  10. 10Others (antibiotic treatment during hospital stay): ciprofloxacin (n = 3) and cloxacillin (n = 5)
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BMC Infectious Diseases

ISSN: 1471-2334

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