Increased frequency of pleural effusion with pneumonia in children presenting at a tertiary care hospital of Karachi

ABSTRACT

We report nine cases of children under the age of ten years with increased incidence of pleural effusion with pneumonia in two months i.e. March and April 2015 at the paediatric unit II, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Karachi All children were admitted in our hospital with a history of fever, with or without rigors and chills, cough and dyspnoea. In younger children nasal flaring was observed. Initial chest Xray done showed pneumonia with pleural effusion. This was followed by Chest ultra sound which revealed pleural effusion on either left or right side of the chest, depending upon the patient. Four of the patients required a thoracotomy tube for drainage of the pleural fluid. All patients were treated with intravenous antibiotics and showed improved results. Four of the nine patients required paediatric intensive care admission. We have reported these cases due to our concern in the upsurge of pleural effusion with pneumonia which was previously not seen in the paediatrics department of a tertiary care hospital of Karachi