Community-acquired Pneumonia and its Complications

Abstract

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide in developing and developed countries, and its incidence is highest among children less than 5-y-old. Over the last five years, several international and local guidelines have been updated with new evidence concerning the epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, treatment and prevention of pediatric CAP, but there are still several major problems that need to be standardised. The aim of this review is to consider the available data concerning the termination, epidemiology, microbiology and pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis and differential diagnosis, treatment, and complications of pediatric CAP. There still are many unanswered questions concerning the management of CAP, including its definition, the difficulty to identify its etiological agents, the emergence of drug, and the lack of introduction of vaccines against respiratory pathogens in developing countries. More research is required in various areas (including therapy of atypical agents), and further efforts are needed to increase vaccination in order to reduce the incidence of the disease.