Aim: Clinical features and outcome of 36 patients with necrotizing pneumonia (NP) as well as 36 children with parapneumonic effusions (PPE) and 36 with severe control pneumonia (CP) were investigated. The mean age of the patients in the NP, PPE and CP groups were similar (3.8 +/- 3.3 (mean +/- SD), 4.2 +/- 3.0 and 4.2 +/- 3.0 y, respectively (p > 0.05)). The duration of symptoms at presentation were 11.9 +/- 8.5, 9.2 +/- 7.2 and 6 +/- 3.6 d, respectively (p < 0.01). The diagnosis of NP was established by computerized tomography. The mean (mean +/- SD) laboratory results in patients with NP revealed a white blood cell (WBC) count of 19,300 +/- 8700/mm3, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) of 71 +/- 22 mm/h, C-reactive protein (CRP) of 13.6 +/- 11.7 mg/dl and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) of 66 +/- 132 U/L. The values of WBC, ESR, CRP and AST in the NP group were significantly higher than those of the other groups (p < 0.001). The duration of hospitalization in the NP, PPE and CP groups was 26 +/- 9, 16 +/- 6 and 10 +/- 5 d, respectively (p < 0.001). The number of febrile days was 8 +/- 4, 4 +/- 3 and 3 +/- 3 (p < 0.001), and the duration of normalization of CRP was 14 +/- 4, 11 +/- 4 and 7 +/- 3 d (p < 0.001), respectively. The average cost of treatment was 3476 US dollars, 1646 US dollars and 844 US dollars, respectively (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: All NP patients except two (94%) were complicated with PPE. The effusion in patients with NP and PPE was complicated with bronchopleural fistula (55% and 0%, respectively, p < 0.001). Surgical treatment was required in 66%, 8% and 0% in patients with NP, PPE and CP, respectively (p < 0.001). The mortality rate was 5.5%, 2.7% and 0% (p > 0.05).