Abstract
Background: Pediatric pneumonia poses a substantial global health threat and with the significant global and changes in climate, mapping recent trends in infectious disease dynamics such as pneumonia becomes imperative. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate seasonal trends in pediatric community-acquired pneumonia admissions and mortality and their correlation with meteorological factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2023 to February 2024 at Mayo Hospital Lahore, involving children aged 15 years and younger diagnosed with community acquired pneumonia. Data on admissions, demographics, comorbidities, pneumonia type, and meteorological variables were extracted from hospital records and the Pakistan Meteorological Department. Results: Among 690 pediatric patients, 91.1% were under 5 years, 56% were male, and 34% had bronchopneumonia. The odds of mortality were significantly raised in patients with bronchopneumonia (OR=3.379; 95%-CI: 2.171-5.260) and co-morbidities such as sepsis (OR=5.658; 95%-CI: 2.627-12.185). There was a significant distribution of pneumonia cases across different seasons (P<0.001) with the highest occurring in winter (36.4%) Mortality was highest in February 2024 (21%) and May 2023 (19.5%). While meteorological factors showed no significant correlation with the number of admissions due to pneumonia, higher and precipitation (r=-0.677; P=0.016) were significantly correlated with decreased mortality. Furthermore, pneumonia cases differed significantly across months based on age (P<0.001), gender (P=0.031), and type of pneumonia (P<0.001). Conclusion: Number of admissions and mortality pediatric CAP exhibit significant seasonal variations. Mortality is significantly influenced by mean monthly temperature, total monthly precipitation, pneumonia type, and comorbidities, particularly sepsis.