Factors affecting prolonged hospitalization in children 6 months to 5 years with severe community acquired pneumonia

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION@#To determine the factors affecting prolonged hospitalization in children 6 months to 5 years diagnosed with severe pneumonia.@*METHODOLOGY@#The study was a retrospective chart review of patients aged 6 months to 5 years diagnosed with Severe Community Acquired Pneumonia and admitted at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center over a 24-month period from January 2018 to December 2019. Variables such as the age and gender of the child, immunization and socio-economic status as well as presence of hypoxemia, respiratory rate on admission, nutritional status and number of antibiotics were correlated with the duration of stay.@*RESULTS@#Younger age, low socioeconomic status and greater number of antibiotics used were found to be significantly associated with prolonged duration of hospital stay after controlling for other variables.@*CONCLUSION@#Findings in this study can help pediatricians to identify children with severe pneumonia who will likely need to be admitted for a prolonged period of time.