THE COURSE OF ACUTE COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED PNEUMONIA IN YOUNG CHILDREN UNDER OXIDATIVE STRESS

Background. According to WHO, pneumonia causes more than 133 thousand deaths annually. In Ukraine, according to data from the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health, more than 46,000 children of various ages were treated for pneumonia in 2023. Pneumonia remains one of the leading causes of morbidity among young children. Recent studies suggest that oxidative stress plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of pneumonia, influencing both the clinical course of the disease and the risk of complications. Objective. To investigate the relationship between oxidative stress, including levels of medium-mass molecules and oxidatively modified proteins, and the clinical characteristics of pneumonia in young children. Materials and Methods. The study included 120 children aged 1–3 years diagnosed with communityacquired pneumonia. Based on the presence or absence of complications, the children were divided into two groups. We assessed key biochemical parameters reflecting disturbances in protein metabolism in children with pneumonia. Results. This study demonstrated that in complicated pneumonia, particularly in cases associated with coronavirus infection, there was a significant increase in oxidative protein modification. Specifically, levels of neutral aldehyde derivatives increased 4.1-fold compared to complicated pneumonia without coronavirus infection (OR = 8.56; 95% CI: 1.71–42.7; p < 0.05). Additionally, basic aldehyde derivatives, measured at a maximum wavelength of 430 nm, increased 1.9-fold in the same group (p < 0.05). In cases of uncomplicated pneumonia associated with coronavirus infection, a 1.4-fold increase in oxidatively modified proteins (OMP) was observed compared to uncomplicated cases without coronavirus (p < 0.05). The levels of neutral ketone derivatives were similar in both types of complicated pneumonia—2.23 ± 1.04 and 2.08 ± 1.43, respectively (p < 0.0001)—with a slight predominance in children with pneumonia without coronavirus infection. A similar trend was also observed in the groups of children with uncomplicated pneumonia. Conclusions. This study confirmed a significant association between the level of oxidative protein modification and the clinical course of pneumonia in young children, particularly in the presence of coronavirus infection.