Variation in bacterial pneumonia diagnoses and outcomes among children hospitalized with lower respiratory tract infections.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Current diagnostics do not permit reliable differentiation of bacterial from viral causes of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), which may lead to over-treatment with antibiotics for possible bacterial community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Objectives

We sought to describe variation in the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial CAP among children hospitalized with LRTIs and determine the association between CAP diagnosis and outcomes.

Design, setting and participants

This multicenter cross-sectional study included children hospitalized between 2017 and 2019 with LRTIs at 42 children's hospitals.

Main outcome and methods

We calculated the proportion of children with LRTIs who were diagnosed with and treated for bacterial CAP. After adjusting for conf

SUBMITTER: Cotter JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11366396 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature