October 25, 2012 July 19, 2010 Contact: Juliann Walsh,
Department of Public Relations, 267-426-6054 A pneumococcal
conjugate vaccine introduced in the U.S. 10 years ago appears to
reduce pneumonia and serious associated complications, such as
blood infections, in the vaccine’s target range, children less
than a year old, according to new research. However, pneumonia
and associated complications, including a lung infection called
empyema, increased in older children, the study found. The
results also show a narrowing of racial disparities in the rates
of pneumonia and associated severe complications. The study by
researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is called
“National Hospitalization Trends for Pediatric Pneumonia and
Associated Complications.” It appears today in the online
version of the journal Pediatrics. The study looked at 619,102
patients younger than 18 years old who were hospitalized for
“community-acquired pneumonia” in the years 1997, 2000, 2003 or
2006 and recorded in the nationa