ABSTRACT
Background: Respiratory tract infections remain the commonest cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality particularly in developing countries. A sub group of these children has recurrent pneumonia which may be the presentation of an underlying more serious systemic or local pathology
Objective: To determine the frequency of underlying causes of recurrent pneumonia, among pediatric patients
Patients and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in the department of Pediatrics, Sheikh Zayed Hospital/ Medical College, Rahim Yar Khan, from 1[st] January, 2011 to 31[st] December, 2011. All the patients presented to the department and diagnosed as recurrent pneumonia were included in the study
Results: During the study period of one year, recurrent pneumonia was diagnosed in 292 patients. An underlying illness could be identified in 282 [97%] while in 10 [3%] cases the underlying cause could not be diagnosed. Underlying illnesses included neurodevelopmental disability in 183 [63%] cases, recurrent bronchiolitis with aspiration pneumonia 30 [10%], congenital heart disease 23 [8%], bronchiectasis 07 [2.3%], bronchial asthma 07 [2.3%], anomalies of the respiratory system 05 [1.7%], cleft palate 05 [1.7%], gastroesophageal reflux disease 04 [1.3%], down syndrome without CHD 04 [1.3%], severe malnutrition 03[1%], ciliary dyskinesia 03[1%], foreign body 02 [0.6%], thalassemia 02 [0.6%] and nutritional rickets 02 [0.6%]
Conclusion: Recurrent pneumonia is relatively common in our country as are recurrent respiratory tract infections. Common underlying illnesses included neurodevelopmental disability, recurrent bronchiolitis with aspiration pneumonia, congenital heart disease, down syndrome, bronchiectasis, bronchial asthma, anomalies of the respiratory system and cleft palate