TY - JOUR T1 - Etiologic, clinic, and microbiologic characteristics of pediatric pleural effusions: a ten-year retrospective study TT - Pediatrik plevral efüzyonların etiyolojik, klinik ve mikrobiyolojik özellikleri: on yıllık retrospektif bir çalışma AU - Çağlar, Hanife Tuğçe AU - Pekcan, Sevgi AU - Ünal, Gökçen AU - Ercan, Fatih AU - Ayman, Fatma Nur AU - Savaş, Suat AU - Tokdemir, Bahar Ece AU - Metin Akcan, Özge AU - Gençeli, Mustafa PY - 2025 DA - October Y2 - 2025 JF - Journal of Medicine and Palliative Care JO - J Med Palliat Care / JOMPAC / Jompac PB - MediHealth Academy Yayıncılık WT - DergiPark SN - 2717-7505 SP - 452 EP - 457 VL - 6 IS - 5 LA - en AB - Aims: To evaluate the clinical, microbiological, and laboratory characteristics of pediatric patients with pleural effusion, and to identify factors associated with prolonged hospitalization.Methods: This retrospective study included patients aged 0-18 years who were hospitalized with pleural effusion between January 2015 and December 2024. Demographics, admission timing, clinical presentation, pleural effusion features, microbiological and viral findings, treatments, and outcomes were analyzed. Results: A total of 119 patients were included, of whom 71.4% were admitted after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The most common etiology was parapneumonic effusion (70.6%), followed by tuberculosis (10.1%) and malignancy (9.2%). Among exudative effusions, empyema was identified in 41.7%. Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae were the most frequent bacterial isolates, while rhinovirus and influenza A were the most common viral pathogens. In univariate analyses, empyema, superinfection, and pleural septation were associated with longer hospital stay. Multivariate regression confirmed superinfection, septation, and non-parapneumonic etiologies as independent predictors of prolonged hospitalization. A moderate positive correlation was found between effusion depth and length of stay (r=0.378, p KW - Pediatric pleural effusion KW - empyema KW - parapneumonic effusion KW - viral co-infection KW - Staphylococcus aureus KW - Streptococcus pneumoniae N2 - Amaç: Plevral efüzyonu olan pediatrik hastaların klinik, mikrobiyolojik ve laboratuvar özelliklerini değerlendirmek ve uzun süreli hastanede kalışla ilişkili faktörleri belirlemek.Yöntemler: Bu retrospektif çalışmaya, Ocak 2015 ile Aralık 2024 tarihleri arasında plevral efüzyon nedeniyle hastaneye yatırılan 0-18 yaş arası hastalar dahil edildi. Hastaların demografik özellikleri, yatış zamanı, yatış semptomları, plevral efüzyon özellikleri, ampiyem varlığı, efüzyon nedeni, solunum virüs paneli sonuçları, hastanede kalış süresi ve tedavi kaydedildi. Sonuçlar: Toplam 119 hasta çalışmaya dahil edildi. En sık görülen etiyoloji parapnömik efüzyon (n = 86, %70,6) idi, bunu tüberküloz (n = 12, %10,1) ve malignite (n = 11, %9,2) izledi. Eksüda olan 60 hastanın 25'inde (%41,7) ampiyem vardı. En sık tespit edilen bakteriler Staphylococcus aureus ve Streptococcus pneumoniae idi. Solunum yolu viral koenfeksiyonları, özellikle rinovirüs ve influenza A, önemli bir oranda gözlendi. Ampiye, süperenfeksiyon ve plevral septasyon, uzun süreli hastanede kalış süresi ile anlamlı bir şekilde ilişkiliydi (sırasıyla p = 0,018, 0,022 ve 0,012). Efüzyon derinliği ile yatış süresi arasında orta derecede bir korelasyon bulundu (r = 0,378, p < 0,001).Sonuç: Parapnömik efüzyon, pediatrik plevral efüzyonun başlıca nedeni olmaya devam etmektedir. Ampiye, süperenfeksiyon ve septasyon varlığı hastane yatış süresini önemli ölçüde uzatmaktadır, bu da erken tanı ve hedefe yönelik müdahalenin önemini vurgulamaktadır. Viral koenfeksiyonların hastalığın ciddiyetindeki rolü, ileri prospektif araştırmaların yapılmasını gerektirmektedir. CR - Balfour-Lynn IM, Abrahamson E, Cohen G, et al. 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