What is pediatric bronchopneumonia?

Pediatric bronchopneumonia is a common infectious disease in children, especially infants and young children. It is the most common cause of hospitalization in children and is more common in children under 2 years old. When it breaks out, there are symptoms such as fever, vomiting, irritability and shortness of breath, which are more common in the cold seasons of winter and spring. Due to the characteristics of its symptoms, it takes a long time to develop and is prone to recurring attacks. In severe cases, it can even lead to death. It is one of the pediatric diseases that parents worry about the most. So what about pediatric bronchopneumonia? Let me explain this to you below.

1. Predisposing factors

Pneumonia is easy to occur in infants and young children due to the physiological and anatomical characteristics of the respiratory system, such as narrow trachea and bronchial lumens, low mucus secretion, poor ciliary movement, poor development of lung elastic tissue, abundant blood vessels and easy congestion, vigorous interstitial development, small number of alveoli, low lung air volume, and easy obstruction by mucus. Infants and young children at this age are prone to infectious diseases, malnutrition, rickets and other diseases because their immune system defense functions have not yet fully developed. These internal factors not only make infants and young children prone to pneumonia, but also make the disease more serious. Infants under one year old have very poor immunity, so pneumonia can easily spread, fuse and extend to both lungs. For older children with stronger physical constitutions, the body's responsiveness gradually matures and the ability to localize infection increases, so pneumonia often presents larger lesions. If it is limited to one lobe, it is lobar pneumonia.

Any pathogen that can cause upper respiratory tract infection can induce bronchopneumonia, but bacteria and viruses are the main ones, among which Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are the most common. Generally, most bronchopneumonia is caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, while other bacteria such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Haemophilus influenzae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are less common. In recent years, there has been an increasing trend of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia and Haemophilus influenzae. The pathogens often invade through the respiratory tract, and a few enter the lungs through the blood.

Through the above content, we can understand what pediatric bronchopneumonia is. Here we would like to remind everyone that during the treatment process, the ward environment should be kept comfortable: air circulation, and temperature and humidity should be suitable for living. Use antibiotics as prescribed by your doctor to promote gas exchange. Pay attention to the factors that affect the child's temperature fluctuations. When using antipyretic drugs, do not use too much in dosage to avoid excessive sweating and a sudden drop in body temperature causing collapse. In addition to encouraging children to eat, they also need intravenous infusions to supplement electrolytes in order to replenish the body's required water and promote the excretion of pathogenic microorganisms and their toxins.