Pneumonia (peds)

Background

• Most common site of infection in neonates

Bugs by Age Group

• Newborn
  • Group B streptococci
  • Gram-negative bacilli
  • Listeria monocytogenes
• 1-3 months
  • Streptococcus pneumoniae
  • Chlamydia trachomatis
  • Haemophilus influenzae
  • Bordetella pertussis
  • Staphylococcus aureus
• 3 months-5 years
  • S. pneumoniae
  • S. aureus
  • H. influenzae type b
  • Nontypeable H. influenzae
  • C. trachomatis
  • Mycoplasma pneumoniae
• 5–18 years
  • M. pneumoniae
  • S. pneumoniae
  • C. pneumoniae
  • H. influenzae type b
  • S. aureus

Clinical Features

Fever and tachypnea are sensitive but not specific

• Fever
• Cough
  • Productive cough is rarely seen before late childhood

Differential Diagnosis

Pediatric fever

• Upper respiratory infection (URI)
• UTI
• Sepsis
• Meningitis
• Febrile seizure
• Pneumonia
• Acute otitis media
• Whooping cough
• Unclear source
• Kawasaki disease
• Neonatal HSV
• Specific virus
  • COVID-19 (peds)

Evaluation

• Absence of tachypnea, respiratory distress, and rales/decreased breath sounds rules-out with 100% sensitivity
• Imaging
  • CXR is not the gold standard!
  • Cannot differentiate between viral and bacterial (but lobar infiltrate more often bacterial)
  • Consider for:
    • Age 0-3mo (as part of sepsis work up)
    • <5yr with temperature >102.2, WBC >20K and no clear source of infection
    • Ambiguous clinical findings
    • Pneumonia that is prolonged or not responsive to antibiotics
• Consider rapid assays for RSV, influenza
• Blood/nasal culture are low yield

Treatment

Newborn

• Hospitalized
  • Ampicillin (80-90mg/kg/day) + gentamicin +/- cefotaxime
    • Add vancomycin if MRSA a concern
    • Add erythromycin (12.g mg/kg QID) if concern for chlamydia
• Outpatient
  • Initial outpatient management not recommended

1-3 Month

• Hospitalized
  • Afebrile pneumonitis
    • Erythromycin (10 mg/kg q6) or Azithromycin (2.5 mg/kg q12)
  • Febrile pneumonia
    • Add Cefotaxime (200mg/kg per day divided q8h)
• Outpatient
  • Erythromycin OR Azithromycin PO

>3mo - 18 years

• Hospitalized (PICU/severely ill)
  • Ceftriaxone IV AND Vancomycin AND consider Azithromycin
• Hospitalized (moderately ill)
  • Fully immunized: Ampicillin (50mg/kg q6) IV
  • Not fully immunized: Ceftriaxone IV
• Outpatient
  • Amoxicillin (90 mg/kg divided BID) x 10 days PO
    • Some studies have shown that 5 day course may also be adequate treatment
  • Alternative: Clindamycin OR Azithromycin OR Amoxicillin-clavulanate

Disposition

All Children less than 2 months should be hospitalized

Consider Admission For

• Age: 2-3 months old
• History of severe or relevant congenital disorders
• Immune suppression (HIV, SCD, malignancy)
• Toxic appearance/respiratory distress
• SpO2 <90-93%

See Also

• Pneumonia (Main)
• Pediatric fever