Neonatal Pneumonia: Expert Highlights The Risks For Infants Living In Polluted Cities

On World Pneumonia Day, Dr Jayant Khandare speaks on possible risks of exposing infants to polluted air.

India contributes to around 5% of global burden of infant mortality rate due to neonatal pneumonia, affecting around 1,53,000 newborns. Childhood pneumonia is also the leading cause of mortality globally for children under five years of age, with over 8,00,000 children affected yearly. The invasive lung infection onsets merely hours after birth and part of generalized sepsis syndrome or after seven days, severely affecting respiratory functions in newborns. Cases pertaining to neonatal pneumonia has been on the rise especially for infants exposed to overly polluted air.

On World Pneumonia Day, Dr Jayant Khandare, Consultant- Pediatrics and Neonatology of Surya Mother and Child Super Specialty Hospital Pune speaks on the risks of exposing infants to polluted air.

What Are The Common Causes Of Neonatal Pneumonia?

The most common causes of neonatal pneumonia are:

1. Low birthweight
2. Congenital infection
3. Inadequate handwashing
4. Malnutrition
5. Declining rates of vaccination
6. Bacterial infections particularly gram-negative bacilli and gram-positive cocci

Neonatal pneumonia extensively stresses the lungs of the neonate, leading to increased efforts in breathing, which requires respiratory support via invasive and non-invasive ventilation to assist the newborn in breathing. Infants who require prolonged endotracheal intubation at a Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at a higher risk of developing ventilator associated pneumonia. Since the infection affects the lungs, prompt treatment is necessary to avoid the risk of generalized infection which could result in shock and fatality.

Diagnosis Of Neonatal Pneumonia

Diagnosis for neonatal pneumonia involves chest X-ray, CT scans of the chest, and sepsis workup which includes investigating the blood count, C-reactive protein (CRP) test, and blood culture. Pneumonia PCR panel is also necessary to rule out bacterial infection, along with examining gram-stain and culture of tracheal aspirate.

Neonatal pneumonia treatments largely include assisted respiratory support, broad spectrum antibiotics altered according to the organism-specific drug, and a focus on proper nutrition of both the neonate and the mother.

Lung infection can be prevented through prompt vaccination of the newborn with pneumococcal vaccine, further scheduled according to the appropriate age. We recommend early pediatric consultation at the first signs of respiratory symptoms for a proper diagnosis. We also advise pregnant mothers to avoid crowded places and use face masks to avoid the risk of contracting infections.