Patient T.V (11 years old, Ho Chi Minh City), was admitted to the City Children's Hospital in critical condition after departing with symptoms that seemed like a common flu. Initially, the child only had a fever and cough, diagnosed with acute respiratory infection at the lower level. However, after only a few days, the disease progressed rapidly, the child had severe shortness of breath and had to be transferred to a higher level.
BS.CKII Nguyen Minh Tien - Deputy Director of Children's Hospital of Ho Chi Minh City, said that when admitted to the hospital, the child not only suffered from severe pneumonia but also serious heart damage. The heart's contracting function was deeply impaired, the excretion rate was only about 23-25%. The child had to be ventilated and had ECMO circulatory support.
After many weeks of intensive treatment, the patient has just overcome the dangerous stage but still needs to continue monitoring and functional rehabilitation.
According to Dr. Tien, every year the hospital receives many children with severe pneumonia, recurrent otitis media due to pneumococcal bacteria, and even meningitis. Some severe cases require ECMO intervention.
Lung thrombocytosis usually resides in the pharyngeal area. When children contract respiratory viral infections, resistance is reduced, bacteria can develop and cause disease. The risk is higher in children with underlying diseases, immunodeficiency or using immunosuppressants. When bacteria enter the blood or central nervous system, the disease can progress rapidly and be life-threatening.
From a scientific perspective, in a seminar "Improving understanding of pneumococcus - Building a wide enough pneumococcus shield, protecting children's health fully" held in Ho Chi Minh City recently, Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan - Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Chairman of the Vietnam Preventive Medicine Association, identified pneumococcus as one of the leading causes of pneumonia, meningitis and septicemia in children.
According to him, urbanization, environmental pollution and unreasonable antibiotic use make the epidemiological picture of the disease increasingly complex. Not only children under 5 years old, but also older children with underlying diseases can get seriously ill. Notably, the appearance of highly toxic serum types and resistance to many types of antibiotics creates additional challenges for treatment.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Thai - Deputy Head of the Department of Infectious Disease Control, National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said that the world has recorded more than 100 pneumococcal serum types, of which about 20-30 types are likely to cause serious diseases. Some types such as 19A, 6A and 11A are associated with a high risk of complications and death.
Monitoring data shows that most pneumococcal strains circulating in Vietnam are covered by existing vaccines, with a rate of about 93.9%. However, serum types can vary over time, requiring regular epidemiological monitoring.
Experts recommend that parents proactively consult medical staff about appropriate preventive measures, thereby reducing the risk of disease, complications and death from pneumococcus in children.
