Persistent pneumonia in children.

With the aim to study the clinical profile and describe the predisposing causes of persistent pneumonia in Indian children, the clinical details and the investigations of children presenting with persistent pneumonia to Pediatric/Chest Clinic services of a tertiary care center in north India were reviewed. Nineteen children (16 boys) were evaluated for persistent pneumonia over a period of 5 years. Based on the clinical features and the results of the investigations, underlying illness could be identified in 16 (84.2%) children. The most frequent underlying causes for persistent pneumonia in children were asthma (26.3%) and post-tubercular bronchiectasis (26.3%).