High prevalence of hypoxia in children with severe pneumonia in rural tertiary hospital in Nigeria

Introduction: Hypoxia is one of the strongest predictors of these deaths in children with pneumonia. This study aimed to document the prevalence and outcome of pneumonia in children with pneumonia. Methodology: Children between I moth to 14 years with diagnosis of severe pneumonia admitted during the study period were included in this study. Hypoxemia was defined as an arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) of <92% at the point of admission. Results: Fifty-four of the 94 hospitalized children with severe pneumonia had hypoxia, giving a prevalence of 57.4%. The mean SPO2 in children with hypoxia was 77.2±11.3% while it was 94.4±1.9% in non-hypoxic children The case fatality rate of children with hypoxemia in this study is 40.7%, with the relative risk of death of 2 among hypoxic children compared to those without. Conclusion: Hypoxia is prevalent in children with pneumonia and increases the risk of mortality.