Complications and long‐term impact of early life pneumonia

Abstract

Pneumonia is an infection affecting the lower airway, where the air sacs are filled with mucus and pus; and typically presents with cough, fever, and fast breathing. Pneumonia is estimated to be the leading cause of mortality in children under five worldwide with 120 million episodes result in 1 million deaths globally. The Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) are more affected. In a study in southeast Nigeria, bronchopneumonia accounted for 41.9%, of the cases admitted in the tertiary hospitals and in another hospital based study among children, pneumonia had the highest respiratory admission rates at 34.0%. Pneumonia can be caused by various organisms: Bacterial (Streptococcus, staphylococcus etc), Viral (RSV) and recently COVID 19 pneumonia. RSV has been noted globally to be a major cause of childhood lower respiratory tract infection, with morbidity/mortality occurring in 99% of (LMICs). Some of the long term sequalae are discussed.