Shortening hospital treatment of pneumonia in children treated at Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Centre Split in the 2010-2011 period

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine whether hospital stay was reduced in children treated for pneumonia by assessing the parameters infl uencing the length of hospitalization. In this retrospective analysis, medical records of patients treated for pneumonia at Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Centre Split in the 2010 to 2011 period were compared with a prior research (1998/1999 and 2004/2005). Study population consisted of 2094 patients less than 18 years of age. In 2010 and 2011, the length of hospitalization was reduced to a median of nine days (IQR: 7-11 days) compared to other years (median 10-11 days, IQR: 8-15 days). Patients treated with one or two antibiotics prior to admission had a shorter hospital stay (median nine days) as compared to patients that had not been previously treated with antibiotics or had been treated with three antibiotics (median 10 days). Before hospitalization, patients were primarily treated with macrolides (33.7%) and penicillin antibiotics (33.2%). The median length of antibiotic treatment before hospitalization decreased over years. At pediatric department, the most commonly used therapies were third-generation cephalosporins (72.0%) and macrolides (18.0%). In conclusion, reduction in the length of hospital stay is a refl ection of rationalization of the treatment of children with pneumonia at our pediatric department in 2010 and 2011. We highlight the need of publishing Croatian guidelines for the management of community-acquired pneumonia in order to improve further treatments and, if possible. shorten hospital treatment of community-acquired pneumonia to fi ve days (the duration of parenteral treatment), with continuation of home treatment with oral antibiotics (fi ve days).