Outcomes among Thai children with risk conditions hospitalized for pneumococcal disease (invasive or non-bacteraemic pneumonia): A multi-centre, observational study

Abstract

The objective of this study was to describe the risk condition status and clinical outcomes among Thai children hospitalized with pneumococcal disease. In this retrospective analysis, pediatric patients with invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) or X-ray confirmed non-bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia (NBPP) were identified from nine hospitals from 2010-2019 in Thailand. Data on risk factors and outcomes were extracted from medical records. In total, 413 cases were identified, 319 IPD and 94 NBPP. Overall, 133 (32.2%) patients were admitted to the intensive care unit and 11/406 (2.7%) died. Twenty-seven percent of IPD cases had at-risk conditions; 15% had high-risk conditions. Most IPD cases (32.9%) occurred in children aged 2-4 years and most NBPP cases (28.7%) occurred in infants aged 0-11 months. Of 51 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates collected, 41 (80%) were PCV13 serotypes. Only 5.1% of children had received a pneumococcal vaccine. Most children with IPD and NBPP had no risk condition, while 42% of the children had at-risk or high-risk conditions for pneumococcal disease. Very few children in the cohort had received any type of pneumococcal vaccine. Increasing the availability of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines should be considered to reduce the burden of pneumococcal disease among children in Thailand.