Neumonía redonda unilateral en pediatría: informe de caso y revisión de la literatura

Abstract

Background: Round pneumonia is a disease that commonly occurs in children under 8 years of age. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the agent that most commonly causes this characteristic type of pneumonia. It has an incidence that accounts for less than 1% of spherical lesions. This is the first documented case of round pneumonia in Honduras. Description of the clinical case: Pre-school patient with a seven-day history of presenting a wet cough at no fixed time, accompanied by fever of 5 days of evolution, for which medical attention was requested at the emergency room of the Hospital de Occidente. Upon physical examination, the patient was in good general condition with a respiratory rate of 32 breaths per minute, oxygen saturation of 95%, no respiratory distress and well-ventilated lungs. She was admitted to the pediatric ward, since she presented a blood count with leukocytosis and neutrophilia, homogeneous radiopacity was observed in chest x-rays in the lower lobe in the left lung, which is why a Computed Tomography (CT) of the chest was performed, in which a diagnosis of round pneumonia was concluded. Subsequently, after antibiotic therapy with ampicillin, x-rays were performed where a resolution of the pneumonic consolidation was observed. Conclusion: Knowledge of this pathology will allow the medical profession to recognize that it is a disease that has a benign course, and to suspect it in the context of symptoms that are indicative of a respiratory infection plus a spherical pneumonic consolidation with defined borders to avoid unnecessary diagnostic tests.