ArticleClinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America2021
The Etiology of Pneumonia From Analysis of Lung Aspirate and Pleural Fluid Samples: Findings From the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) Study.
Article in Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Microbial Etiology of Empyema Thoracis in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Indian pediatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Aetiology of childhood pneumonia in low- and middle-income countries in the era of vaccination: a systematic review.Journal of global health · 2022Pooled it
- The association between bacteria colonizing the upper respiratory tract and lower respiratory tract infection in young children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2021Pooled it
- Comparative study of plasma microbial cell-free DNA sequencing to culture and polymerase chain reaction in pediatric community-acquired pneumonia with parapneumonic effusion or empyema.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2026Article
- A Comprehensive Review of Pediatric Necrotizing Pneumonia.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Epidemiology and Diagnostic Accuracy of Respiratory Pathogens in Pediatric Populations: Insights From Global Studies.Cureus · 2024Review
- Article
- Comparison of Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction and Culture for Targeting Pathogens in Pediatric Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia.Turkish archives of pediatrics · 2024Article
- Alternative Antimicrobial Irrigation Strategies for the Treatment of Infections in Children: A Review of the Existing Literature.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Clinical algorithm reduces antibiotic use among children presenting with respiratory symptoms to hospital in central Vietnam.Pneumonia (Nathan Qld.) · 2023Article
- The dilemma of improving rational antibiotic use in pediatric community-acquired pneumonia.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2023Review
- Article
- Nasopharyngeal aspirates in children with severe community-acquired pneumonia collected within 3 days before bronchoscopy can partially reflect the pathogens in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids.BMC infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Effectiveness of the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on pediatric pneumonia confirmed by ultrasound: a matched case-control study.Respiratory research · 2022Article
- Assessment of nasopharyngeal Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization does not permit discrimination between Canadian children with viral and bacterial respiratory infection: a matched-cohort cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Epidemiology of Hypoxic Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Children Under 5 Years of Age: An Observational Study in Northern India.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
32 authors at 15 institutions in 11 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAn improved understanding of childhood pneumonia etiology is required to inform prevention and treatment strategies. Lung aspiration is the gold standard specimen for pneumonia diagnostics. We report findings from analyses of lung and pleural aspirates collected in the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) study.
methodsThe PERCH study enrolled children aged 1-59 months hospitalized with World Health Organization-defined severe or very severe pneumonia in 7 countries in Africa and Asia. Percutaneous transthoracic lung aspiration (LA) and pleural fluid (PF) aspiration was performed on a sample of pneumonia cases with radiological consolidation and/or PF in 4 countries. Venous blood and nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabs were collected from all cases. Multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and routine microbiologic culture were applied to clinical specimens.
resultsOf 44 LAs performed within 3 days of admission on 622 eligible cases, 13 (30%) had a pathogen identified by either culture (5/44) or by PCR (11/29). A pathogen was identified in 12/14 (86%) PF specimens tested by either culture (9/14) or PCR (9/11). Bacterial pathogens were identified more frequently than viruses. All but 1 of the cases with a virus identified were coinfected with bacterial pathogens. Streptococcus pneumoniae (9/44 [20%]) and Staphylococcus aureus (7/14 [50%]) were the predominant pathogens identified in LA and PF, respectively.
conclusionsBacterial pathogens predominated in this selected subgroup of PERCH participants drawn from those with radiological consolidation or PF, with S. pneumoniae and S. aureus the leading pathogens identified.
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