ABSTRACT
Objective To study clinical characteristics of bacterial pneumonia with normal procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in infants and toddlers. Methods Retrospective analysis of clinical data of infants and toddlers with bacterial pneumonia was performed from January 1, 2013 to March 30, 2015. Of them, there were 92 cases with normal PCT and CRP (case groupe) and 95 cases with signiifcantly higher PCT and CRP (control group). Results The median age was 9.25 months in the case group, which was signiifcantly younger than that in the control group (16.55 months) (P<0.05). The median of the course before admission was 5.17 days in the case group, which was signiifcantly longer than that in the control group (3.5 days) (P<0.05). The proportions of fever, dyspnea, and hypoxemia were signiifcantly lower in the case group than those in the control group (P<0.05). Administration of antibiotics before admission was found in 83.69%of cases in the cases group, which was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). The most common pathogens in the case group was Haemophilus inlfuenza, while Streptococcus pneumonia was the most common in the control group. Conclusion The possibility of bacterial infection cannot be ruled out in pneumonia with normal CRP and PCT in infants and toddlers.
