Persistent or recurrent pneumonia in Saudi children seen at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh: clinical profile and some predisposing factors

Children with persistent or recurrent pneumonia without an apparent cause constitute an important clinical category with much morbidity and mortality and can be perplexing and frustrating to the treating physician and the parents. To identify the clinical profile and predisposing factors in this group of patients, 18 Saudi children were studied. Their ages ranged from 3 months to 12 years (mean age 5.7 years) with male preponderance--12 boys and 6 girls (M:F ratio 2:1). About 44.4% had immune and inherited metabolic disorders. Anatomical abnormalities were found in four (22.2%). Two had measles as a predisposing factor. None had tuberculosis or pertussis. One child each had pulmonary candidiasis and laryngeal papilloma, probably contracted from their mothers as congenital infections. Though the pattern seems to follow that found in developed countries, it is noteworthy that cystic fibrosis was not identified in any of our patients.