Retrospective study on incidence and diagnosis of pneumonia in children under 5 years old in a community of Shanghai

ObjectiveTo obtain data on epidemics characteristics, disease burden and pneumonia vaccination for children pneumonia.

MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on children under 5 who had been diagnosed with pneumonia from Jan 1 to Dec 31 in 2012.The information thus obtained on epidemiology and cost of medical service was statistically analyzed.

ResultsA total of 1 079 children under 5 were investigated, of whom 86 were diagnosed with pneumonia in 2012.The incidence rate of pneumonia in children was 7.97%;the incidence of male was 9.63% and that of female was 5.95%, with the highest incidence rate (11.70%) in those aged 2 to 3 years in all age groups.Incidence rate was found to be higher in spring and winter.Twenty-three people (26.74%) had a history of pneumonia vaccination before the onset of pneumonia.The number of hospitalized cases was 16 (18.60%).Those with a history of pneumonia vaccination before onset had an obviously lower hospitalized proportion (4.35%) than those without (23.81%), and the difference between them was statistically significant (P < 0.05).The total cost for the 86 cases was 345 444 yuan, and 4 017 yuan for each on average.The medical nursing cost was the highest, accounting for 57.03%.The outpatient cost and hospitalization cost were 22.13% and 9.92%.The factor affecting the amount of cost was hospitalization, and the costs for hospitalization was higher than those for non-hospitalized cases (P < 0.05).

ConclusionThe high hospitalization rate for children under 5 is associated with no pneumonia vaccination.Reducing hospitalization rates will effectively reduce the burden of childhood pneumonia.Vaccination for children can effectively reduce the occurrence and hospitalization rate for children pneumonia.