A COMBINATION OF HYPOALBUMINEMIA AND IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA AND ITS CONSEQUENCE IN PEDIATRIC PNEUMONIA

Background: In the pediatric population, pneumonia stands as the prevailing cause of mortality. The simultaneous presence of hypoalbuminemia and iron deficiency anemia presents specific difficulties in the treatment of pediatric pneumonia. Objectives: (1) Determine the proportion of coexistence of both hypoalbuminemia and iron deficiency anemia. (2) Evaluate the association between the coexistence of hypoalbuminemia, iron deficiency anemia, and pneumonia in children faged between 2 months and 5 years old at Ca Mau Obstetrics and Pediatrics hospital in 2022-2023. Research subjects and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 177 young patients, aged 2 months to 5 years old, who were diagnosed with pneumonia. The diagnosis of pneumonia was based on the WHO diagnostic criteria for pneumonia in children under 5 years old. The children had the following symptoms: a cough and/or difficulty breathing and/or fever accompanied by rapid breathing or chest indrawing; tachypnea compared to age according to the World Health Organization; or small moist rales, whistling rales, or snoring rales noted in the lungs via an examination, or a cardiopulmonary X-ray showing pneumonia. Results: The percentage of male patients was 56.5%. The average age was 22.5±15.82 months old. The coexistence of hypoalbuminemia and iron deficiency anemia was found in 14.1% of cases. Children who had hypoalbuminemia and iron deficiency anemia were more likely to experience severe pneumonia, with a rate of 36% compared to 7.9% in the control group. Twenty-four percent of the participants in the study used a greater amount of antibiotics, which was significantly higher than the control group's rate of 3.9%. More than half of the patients required hospitalization for more than a week. Conclusion: The consequence of the simultaneous presence of both hypoalbuminemia and iron deficiency anemia is an exacerbation of pneumonia severity requiring a higher quantity of antibiotics for treatment.