Clinical characteristics of pediatric pneumonia: a retrospective study

To explore the clinical characteristics of pneumonia in infants and children and to provide robust clinical evidence for its prevention and treatment. This retrospective study analyzed the clinical data from pediatric patients diagnosed with pneumonia who were admitted to The Third Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Hefei) between March 2023 and September 2023. Collected variables included sex, age, pneumonia vaccination rates, clinical diagnosis, severity of pneumonia, presence of fever, levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), incidence of anemia, use of ventilator-assisted breathing, length of hospitalization, and results of pathogen detection. The incidence of rhinovirus, bocavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza A virus was significantly higher in children with severe pneumonia, who also showed a greater prevalence of mixed infections. These patients exhibited higher rates of fever, elevated CRP and PCT levels, more frequent anemia, increased reliance on ventilatory support, and prolonged hospital stays. Compared with patients with non-mixed infections, those with mixed infections showed lower pneumonia vaccination rates, significantly higher CRP and PCT levels, increased need for ventilatory support, and longer durations of hospitalization. In pediatric patients with pneumonia, severe cases were associated with a higher incidence of multiple viral infections and more frequent mixed infections, which correlated with more pronounced clinical symptoms. Patients with mixed infections also demonstrated lower vaccination coverage and greater disease severity. These findings underscore the need for enhanced surveillance, targeted prevention, and optimized treatment strategies, particularly for severe and mixed infection cases in the pediatric population.