[Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of childhood parapneumonic empyemas]

International audienceSeveral studies have reported an increasing incidence of childhood parapneumonic empyemas in various countries. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of our study was to estimate the annual incidence of complicated community-acquired pneumonias in children during a 9-year period in a French area and to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of these complications. POPULATION AND METHODS: We have listed the children from 28 days to 15 years old, hospitalized in the 2 children hospitals of the Isere district for a community-acquired pneumonia complicated with a pleural empyema or a pulmonary abscess from 1995 to 2003. RESULTS: During the study period, 90 children were hospitalized for a complicated pneumonia including 83 pleural empyemas and 7 isolated lung abscess. The average number of cases was 4 per year from 1995 to 1998 then increased since 1999 to reach 34 cases in 2003, according to a linear model (P