Question
Case Description: The child is three months old and has been coughing for several days, possibly due to catching a cold. Upon hospital visit, the doctor diagnosed it as pneumonia. The child’s face turns blue when coughing and has phlegm. Previous Treatment and Effectiveness: Treatment has been ongoing for a week, but there has been no significant improvement; the child still coughs and has phlegm. The child is being treated in the intensive care unit, including the use of antibiotics, nebulization, oxygen therapy, and sputum aspiration. Desired Assistance: The parents are anxious and want to know when the child can show significant improvement? When can recovery be expected? Do they need to be transferred to another hospital for treatment?
Answer
Pneumonia is a common childhood illness, often caused by bacterial or viral infections. Treatment principles include anti-inflammatory, bronchodilator, and expectorant therapy. The child should drink plenty of water, and family members should help with back patting to promote expectoration. In daily life, family members may be the main source of neonatal infection. If family members have respiratory infections or carry bacteria, they may transmit the germs to newborns through air or contact. Since newborns have weak resistance, a common cold in adults can lead to pneumonia in children. Even if a newborn coughs only 1-2 times, it may indicate lung inflammation. Currently, the child is breathing rapidly with no obvious rales in the lungs, requiring continuous monitoring. Treatment for pneumonia typically takes 12 weeks. If the child’s cough does not worsen, improvement can be seen approximately 7-10 days after medication treatment. However, parents can be assured that the treatment for neonatal pneumonia is more effective recently than during winter, and the course is also shorter. Wishing the child a speedy recovery!