Clinical diagnosis of pneumonia in children.

摘要

Pneumonia remains a common source of morbidity and mortality in children. A key question in the diagnostic evaluation of children with acute respiratory illness is whether chest radiography should be performed to rule in or rule out the diagnosis of pneumonia. Radiologically, pneumonia is defined as an infiltrate seen on chest radiography in a child with symptoms of an acute respiratory illness. Although there is considerable literature on the diagnosis of pneumonia in children in the developing world, this review focuses on studies in Europe and North America because the clinical presentation, health care system, and microbiology in these settings are more relevant.