Characterization of Children Younger than 5 Years of Age with Severe Community-Acquired Alveolar Pneumonia (CAAP) Requiring Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) Admission

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to determine factors characterizing children admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) with community-acquired alveolar pneumonia (CAAP) to help clinicians assess disease severity upon initial assessment in the emergency department. Methods We prospectively collected demographic, clinical, and laboratory data of children Results Of 9,722 CAAP episodes, 367 (3.8%) were PICU-CAAP, 5,552 (57.1%) Hosp-CAAP and 3,803 (39.1%) ED-CAAP. In a univariate analysis, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was detected more commonly among PICU-CAAP than in Hosp-CAAP (P=0.02) and ED-CAAP patients (P Conclusion Children admitted to PICU were younger, had more respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) detection, were premature, had lower O2 saturation, and had a higher respiratory rate than those admitted to the general ward or those visiting the emergency department and subsequently discharged.