Analysis of pathogen distribution and risk factors for extended antibiotic course in children with microbiological-based protracted bacterial bronchitis in southwest China

Description

Donghai Wang and co-authors studied in 2026 children in southwest China with a long-lasting bacterial chest disease that causes chronic wet cough. Lung wash samples from one hundred thirty-eight children were cultured to identify the responsible bacteria. Statistical models and a decision tree searched for factors tied to needing more than four weeks of antibiotics. Most earlier research on this condition came from wealthy countries, the authors note.

Two bacteria dominated the cultures, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae, sometimes appearing together. Pneumococcal disease independently lengthened the antibiotic course children needed in the regression analysis. A simple three-part rule predicted prolonged treatment with accuracy near eighty-eight percent in their data. The rule combined pneumococcal disease, a very high share of one white cell type in lung fluid, and prior inhaled steroid use. The authors call for more research in lower-income settings.

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Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13236680