Pneumonia in Sagamu.

Abstract

Summary: A study of 154 cases of pneumonia in infancy and childhood at the Oyun State University Teaching Hospital is presented. The condi- . tion accounted for 3.9 percent of all paediatric admissions. A majority (81.2 percent) of the patients were aged three years and under, while the male to female ratio was 1.1:1. A seasonal variation in the prevalence of pneumonia was found with two peaks in February and November. Brochopneumonia was the commoner type of pneumonia, occurring in 83.1 percent of the cases. Patients with lobar pneumonia. were significantly older and had a higher mean temperature on admission and a longer period of hospitalization than patients with bronchopneumonia. The com monest associated conditions that were identified included upper respiratory tract infection in 39 percent, measles in 24.7 percent and protein-energy malnutrition in 7.1 percent of the cases. Cardiac failure was the commonest complication; it occurred in 31.2 percent of the cases. Mortality rate was 13.1 percent, with measles being an associated illness in 50 percent of the patients that died. It is suggested that greater effort than before should be made to immunize all children in the susceptible age-group against measles and to educate mothers on the need for early treatment of their children with respiratory symptoms.