Frequency of community-acquired pneumonia in children aged 5 to 12 years in the Provincial Health Center N°48 of the city of Rosario, Argentina in 2023

Introduction: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children under 10 years of age. In recent years, an increase in the incidence of complicated pneumonia in children has been observed. To describe the frequency of community-acquired pneumonia in children aged 5 to 12 years at the Provincial Health Center N°48 in the city of Rosario, Argentina, in 2023. Quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective study. It was carried out at the Provincial Health Center N°48. The population consisted of all pediatric patients of both sexes, aged between 5 and 12 years, who had been treated as outpatients or inpatients for a diagnosis of community pneumonia. The data collection instrument was the patients' medical records. The statistical analysis consisted of a descriptive analysis of quantitative variables through absolute and relative percentage frequencies. We found 30 medical records of pediatric patients diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia. Of these, 53% were female and 47% male; with a mean age of 8.37 ± 2.51 years (min.3; max. 12). It was found that 40% of the cases presented asthma, bronchial hyperreactivity and recurrent respiratory infections, 33% presented malnutrition, 20% had premature birth, 10% had chronic diseases, 7% attended day care centers and 3% lived in overcrowded conditions. Among the main symptoms associated with the diagnosis of the disease, there was a gradual onset, fever higher than 38.5°, productive cough, chills, myalgia and arthralgias. The treatment used in 90% of the cases was Amoxicillin orally at a dose of 80-100mg/kg every 8 hours for 7 days. A low frequency of CAP (4%) was found in pediatric patients under 12 years of age. Asthma, bronchial hyperreactivity and recurrent respiratory infections were risk factors present in the studied population. Clinical manifestations of CAP were fever higher than 38.5°, productive cough, chills, myalgias and arthralgias. Amoxicillin was used orally at a dose of 80-100mg/kg every 8 hours for 7 days as the first treatment option