A Ten Year Review of Parapneumonic Effusion in Children seen at OAUTHC, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Background: Parapneumonic effusion has remained a very common complication of pneumonia in children and a contributor to its adverse morbidity and mortality. There has not been a recent documentation of its burden among Children in our centre. Aims and Objective: This study thus aims to document the pattern, management, and the outcome of Parapneumonic effusion seen among children at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife over a 10 year period. Methodology: A retrospective review of all the cases of Parapneumonic effusion over the period January 1999 to December 2008 was undertaken. Relevant data from their files were extracted into a proforma and analyzed. Results: There were sixty four cases of pleural effusion in children between the ages of 1 month and 15 years. Pleural effusion accounted for 0.32 per cent of the total admission into the paediatric wards for the period under review. Of the 64 cases, 2 were excluded from the study because they were not parapneumonic. Of the 62 cases included in the study, 29 (46.8%) are female and 33 (53.2 %) male. Even though all ages are affected, the incidence is particularly high in children under one year, accounting for 31 (50.0%) of the cases. Conclusion: Parapneumonic effusion complicates paediatric community acquired pneumonia especially in children who present late to medical facilities. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common causative agent in children with positive pleural aspirate cultures.