Newborn babies are particularly vulnerable to the devastating effects of pneumonia. The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical features of term and preterm infants with community-acquired viral pneumonia who were hospitalised. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit conducted a retrospective study of instances of community-acquired viral pneumonia. Clinical data and Nasopharyngeal Aspirate (NPA) samples were gathered for pathogen analysis. Clinical features and the types of pathogens that were found in this group of babies were analysed. Premature newborns are more likely to contract parainfluenza virus (PIV)3, while term infants are more likely to contract respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). When compared to patients with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, PIV3-infected patients were more likely to develop bacterial coinfections. Coinfection with bacteria, notably gram-negative bacteria (especially Klebsiella pneumonia), was more common in PIV3-infected preterm newborns than in term infants (P<0.05). When compared to term infants with a simple viral infection (P<0.05), those with a bacterial infection were more likely to exhibit symptoms such as fever, cyanosis, moist rales, the 3 concave signs, elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, respiratory failure, and the need for a higher level of oxygen support and mechanical ventilation. Neonatal community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) was associated with a significant rate of hyponatremia. The most common viral causes of CAP in newborns were RSV and PIV3. Premature newborns were more likely to be coinfected with bacteria than term infants, most commonly gram-negative bacteria, and PIV3 infection is the leading cause of viral CAP in premature infants. Infants born on time who contracted CAP from a bacterium were more likely to experience a severe case than those who contracted CAP from a virus alone.
Source – bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12887-022-03508-7
