Definition:

Pneumonia is an infection in the lungs. It can be mild or serious. The illness can be cause by bacteria,
viruses, and fungi. Pneumonia is generally more common in children younger than 5 years old.

Sign/symptoms

 very fast breathing (in some cases, this is the only symptom)
 breathing with grunting or wheezing sounds.
 working hard to breathe; this can include flaring of the nostrils, belly breathing, or movement of
the muscles between the ribs.
 fever.
 cough.
 stuffy nose.
 shaking chills.

Laboratory Exams
If child’s healthcare provider can often diagnose pneumonia with a full health history and physical exam.
He or she may include these tests to confirm the diagnosis:
 Chest X-ray. This test makes images of internal tissues, bones, and organs.
 Blood tests. A blood count looks for signs of an infection. An arterial blood gas test looks at the
amount of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood.
 Sputum culture. This test is done on the mucus (sputum) that is coughed up from the lungs and
into the mouth. It can find out if your child has an infection. It’s not routinely done because it is
hard to get sputum samples from children.
 Pulse oximetry. An oximeter is a small machine that measures the amount of oxygen in the blood.
To get this measurement, the provider tapes a small sensor onto a finger or toe. When the machine
is on, a small red light can be seen in the sensor. The sensor is painless and the red light does not
get hot.
 Chest CT scan. This test takes images of the structures in the chest. It is very rarely done.
 Bronchoscopy. This procedure is used to look inside the airways of the lungs. It is very rarely
done.
 Pleural fluid culture. This test takes a sample of fluid from the space between the lungs and chest
wall (pleural space). Fluid may collect in that area because of the pneumonia. This fluid may be
infected with the same bacteria as the lung. Or the fluid may just be caused by the inflammation in
the lung.