2. Respiratory disorders are
important as
They account for 50% of consultations with general
practitioners for acute illness in young children and
one-third of consultations in older children
Respiratory illness leads to 20-35% of acute
paediatric admissions to hospital
They are the fifth most common cause of death in
children ages between one and 14 years in the UK
Asthma is the most common chronic illness of
childhood in the UK and the most frequent single
cause for emergency hospital admission
Cystic fibrosis is the most common lethal inherited
disorder in Caucasians
3. Respiratory infections
most frequent infections of childhood.
The pre-school child has on average 6-8
respiratory infections a year.
Most are mild, self-limiting illness but some,
such as bronchiolitis or epiglottitis, are
potentially life-threatening
4. Pathogens
Viruses: cause 80-90% of childhood respiratory
infections. The most important are the respiratory
syncycial virus (RSV), rhinoviruses, parainfluenza,
influenza and adenovirus. An individual virus can cause
several different patterns of illness, e.g. RSV can cause
bronchiolitis, croup, pneumonia or a common cold.
The important bacterial respiratory pathogens are
Streptococcus pneumoniae and other streptococci,
Haemophilus influenzae, Bordetella pertussis which
cause whooping cough, and mycoplasma pneumoniae.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains an important
pathogen. Some pathogens cause predictable epidemics,
such as RSV bronchiolitis every winter, whereas others,
e.g. pneumococcus, show little seasonal variation.
5. Host and environmental
factors
Poor socio-economic status (such as overcrowded,
damp housing and poor nutrition)
Larger family size
Maternal smoking
Boys more than girls
Prematurity-especially infants who have required
artificial ventilation
Congenital abnormalities of the heart or lungs
Rarely, immune deficiency, either congenital,
e.g.agmmaglobulinaemia, or acquired, e.g. malignant
disease or HIV infection.
6. The child’s age
The child’s age influences the prevalence and
severity of infections.
It is in infancy that serious respiratory illness
requiring hospital admission is the most
common and the risk of death is great.
There is an increased frequency of infections
when the child or older siblings start nursery
or school. Repeated upper respiratory tract
infections are rarely an indication of
underlying disease
8. Upper respiratory tract
infection (URTI)
80% of respiratory infections involve only
the nose, throat, ears and sinuses
The term URTI embraces a number of
different conditions:
common cold (coryza)
sore throat (pharyngitis, including
tonsillitis)
acute otitis media
sinusitis
9. Clinical Presentation
The most common presentation is a
child with a combination of a painful
throat, fever, nasal blockage and
discharge and earache.
Cough is troublesome in many cases
10. URTIs may cause
Difficulty in feeding in infants as their
noses are blocked and this obstructs
breathing
Febrile convulsions
Precipitation of acute asthma
In infants, hospital admission may be
required exclude a more serious
infection
11. Brochiolitis
Brochiolitis is the most common serious
respiratory infection of infancy. Two to
three per cent of all infants are
admitted to hospital with the disease
each year during annual winter
epidemics. Ninety per cent are aged 1-9
months brochiolitis is rare after one
year old. Respiratory syncitial virus
(RSV) is the pathogen in 75-80% cases
12. Clinical features
Coryzal symptoms precede a dry cough and increasing
breathlessness. Wheezing is often but not always
present. Feeding difficulties associated with increasing
dyspnoea are often the reason for admission to hospital.
Recurrent apnoea is a serious complication in infants in
the first few months of life. Infants born prematurely
who develop bronchopulmonary dysplasia and infants
with congenital heart disease are more severely
affected. The finding on examination are characteristic:
Sharp, dry cough
Tachypnoea
Subcostal and intercostals recession
Hyperinflation of the chest
13. Investigations
RSV can be identified rapidly using a
fluorescent antibody test on
nasopharyngeal secretions. The chest
X-ray shows hyperinflation of the lungs
due to small airways obstruction and air
trapping. Blood gas analysis, which is
required in only the most severe cases,
shows lowered arterial oxygen and
raised CO2 tension
14. Management
Is supportive. Humidified oxygen is delivered into a
head-box, the concentration required is ascertained
using a pulse oximeter. The child is monitored for
apnoea.
Mist, antibiotics and steroids are not helpful.
Nebulised bronchodialators do not reduce the severity
or duration of the illness.
The antiviral drug ribavirin only marginally shortens
viral excretion and clinical symptoms, and should be
considered only for infants with underlying
cardiopulmonary disorders or immunodeficiency.
Fluids may need to be given by nasogastric tube or
intravenously.
Mechanical ventilation is required in about 2% of
infants admitted to hospital
15. Prognosis
Most infants recover from he acute
infection within two weeks. However, as
many as half will have recurrent
episodes of cough and wheeze over the
next 3-5 years. Rarely, the illness is
very severe and results in permanent
damage o the airway
16. Pneumonia
A wide range of pathogens cause
pneumonia in childhood and different
organisms affect different age groups
17. In newborns
The newborns is infected by organisms
from the mother’s genital tract. The
most common is the Group B β
haemolytic streptococcus. Other
pathogens are E.coli and other Gram-
negative bacilli. Chlamydia trachomatis
is an unusual but important pathogen.
18. In infancy
In infancy, respiratory viruses,
particularly RSV, are the most frequent
cause but bacterial infection from
Streptococcus pneumoniae and
Haemophilus influenzae are also
important. Staphylococcus aureus is
uncommon but causes severe infection
19. Older Children
As children become older, viruses become
less frequent pathogens and bacterial
infection more prominent. Mycoplasma
pneumoniae is a common cause of
pneumonia in school age children.
Tuberculosis should be considered at all
ages
20. Clinical Features
Fever, cough breathlessness and lethargy
following an upper respiratory tract infection
are the usual presenting symptoms.
Breathing is rapid, shallow and gives the
impression that the child is afraid to breathe
deeply.
Pleuritic chest pain, neck stiffness and
abdominal pain may be present if there is
pleural inflammation.
21. Clinical Features
Classical signs of consolidation with impaired
percussion, decreased breath sound and
brochial breathing are often absent,
particularly in infants
The chest X-ray may slow lobar consolidation,
patchy bronchopneumonia or, less commonly,
cavitation of the lung.
Pleural effusions are quite common,
particularly in bacterial pneumonia.
Blood cultures, nasopharyngeal aspirates of
viral isolation and a full blood count also be
performed in children needing hospitalisation.
22. Management
It is not possible to differentiate reliably between
bacterial or viral infection on clinical or radiological
grounds, so all children diagnosed as have pneumonia
should receive antibiotics.
As it is unlikely for the pathogen to be known when
treatment is started, the choice of antibiotic is
determined by the child’s age, severity of illness and
appearance of the chest X-ray.
If intravenous therapy is required, activity against
pneumococci, H. influenzae and Staph. aures can be
achieved with a second-generation cephalosporin.
23. Management
Oral antibiotics are given for less severe
infections.
If M.pneumoniae or Chlamydia trachomatis
pneumonia is suspected, erythromycin is given.
Physiotherpy, an adequate fluid intake and
oxygen in severe pneumonia may be required. If
a child has recurrent or persistent pneumonia,
investigations to exclude an underlying condition
such as cystic fibrosis or immunodeficiency is
indicated