Frequency of Pneumonia in Children Presenting with Measles at DHQ Hospital, Dera Ismail Khan
Frequency of Pneumonia in Children Presenting with Measles
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54393/pjhs.v7i6.3922Keywords:
Measles, Pneumonia, Pediatric, Vaccination, MalnutritionAbstract
Measles remains a significant cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Pneumonia is one of the most frequent and serious complications of measles, contributing substantially to adverse outcomes in affected children. Objectives: To determine the frequency of pneumonia among children presenting with measles at DHQ Hospital, Dera Ismail Khan, and to assess associated demographic and clinical factors. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in the Department of Pediatrics, District Headquarters Hospital, Dera Ismail Khan, from September 2024 to January 2025. A total of 169 children aged 2–15 years with laboratory-confirmed measles were enrolled using consecutive non-probability sampling. Pneumonia was diagnosed based on clinical findings and radiographic confirmation. Data on age, gender, vaccination status, nutritional status, socioeconomic status, and residence were collected using a structured proforma. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 25.0. Associations were evaluated using chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests, and multivariable logistic regression was conducted. Results: Among 169 children, 54 (32.0%) developed pneumonia. Pneumonia was significantly associated with malnutrition (p<0.001), younger age (p<0.001), rural residence (p=0.028), and lack of immunization (p<0.001). No pneumonia cases were observed among immunized children. Conclusions: Pneumonia was observed in approximately one-third of children with measles. Malnutrition, younger age, and non-immunization were associated with higher pneumonia frequency.
References
Riabokon OV, Bilokobyla SO, Korniienko OO, Riabokon YY, Vynokurova AV. Diagnostic Significance of Immunological Parameters in Predicting the Development of Pneumonia in Adult Patients with Measles. Current Issues in Pharmacy and Medicine: Science and Practice. 2024 Jun; 17(2): 160-8. doi: 10.14739/2409-2932.2024.2.299489.
Turaiche M, Grigoras ML, Bratosin F, Bogdan I, Bota AV, Cerbu B et al. Disease Progression, Clinical Features, and Risk Factors for Pneumonia in Unvaccinated Children and Adolescents with Measles: A Re-Emerging Disease in Romania. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022 Oct; 19(20): 13165. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192013165.
Kulsoom S, Soomro S, Junejo S, Anjum M, Waseem H, Akram M. Clinical Presentation, Complications, and Outcome of Measles in Pediatric Population at Tertiary Care Hospital: Measles in Pediatric Population. Pakistan Journal of Health Sciences. 2023 Mar: 50-3. doi: 10.54393/pjhs.v4i03.624.
Khan IU, Shehzad A, Ahmad Z. Frequency of Myocarditis in Children Presenting with Measles at Tertiary Care Hospital. Medical and Experimental Research Articles - Journal of Combined Military Hospital Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry. 2024 Dec; 6(2).
Gul J, Gul H, Asma B, Ali I, Ullah MZ. Frequency of Pneumonia in Children Presenting with Measles at Bacha Khan Medical College, Swabi. Indus Journal of Bioscience Research. 2025 Jul; 3(7): 1240-4. doi: 10.70749/ijbr.v3i7.2528.
Bursal B, Çelik T, Bingöl İ, Tosun D, Tuncay SA, Dağtekin ZK et al. Resurgent Measles in Türkiye: Predictors of Severe Disease in a Nationwide Pediatric Cohort, 2023. European Journal of Pediatrics. 2025 Nov; 184(11): 1-1. doi: 10.1007/s00431-025-06539-1.
Zhao L, Wang Y, Chen X, Yang L, Cai M, Zhang Z et al. Clinical Characteristics of Adult Inpatients with Measles in Beijing from 2010 to 2021: A Retrospective Analysis. BioMed Central Infectious Diseases. 2023 May; 23(1): 312. doi: 10.1186/s12879-023-08256-2.
Mawlood SD, Al-Ani MM, Al-Ani RM, Alshibib A. Impact of Measles Vaccination on Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes in Children in Ramadi, Iraq. World Journal of Clinical Pediatrics. 2025 Sep; 14(3): 107253. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.v14.i3.107253.
Ullah F, Muhammad T, Ullah F, Naz R, Bashir Khan, Shaista Qazi. Frequency of Measles-Related Complications in Hospitalized Children. Pakistan Journal of Medical and Health Sciences. 2023; 17(01): 548. doi: 10.53350/pjmhs2023171548.
Khan A, Khan AM, Akbar A, Akram M, Ahmad F, Nawaz A. Prevalence of Pneumonia Associated with Measles among Infants and Children. Children. 2021; 90: 60. doi: 10.19045/bspab.2021.100072.
Lin Y, Shi Q, Yang J, Huang G, Yan J. Association of Anthropometric Z Score with Complications and Length of Hospital Stay in Children with Severe Pneumonia Aged 3 Months to 5 Years. Nutrition in Clinical Practice. 2024 Apr; 39(2): 459-69. doi: 10.1002/ncp.11067.
Wani RT. Socioeconomic Status Scales-Modified Kuppuswamy and Udai Pareekh's Scale Updated for 2019. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2019 Jun; 8(6): 1846-9. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_288_19.
Mehta KP, Patel A, Patel A. Clinical Profile, Complications and Outcomes of Measles among Children: An Observational Study from a Tertiary Care Hospital, South Gujarat, India. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2023 Jan; 17(1). doi: 10.7860/JCDR/2023/59480.17410.
Aurangzeb B, Fatmee A, Waris R, Haider N, Berjees A, Raza SH. Risk Factors for Mortality Among Admitted Children with Complications of Measles in Pakistan: An Observational Study. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association. 2021 Feb; 71(2 (A)): 497-501.
Khan S, Iqbal J, Tayyeb M, Fahad S, Ullah A, Khan H. Prevalence of pneumonia associated with measles among infants and children hospitalized in Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan. Pure and Applied Biology. 2021 Jul; 10(3): 703-12. doi: 10.19045/bspab.2021.100072.
Chen W, Du M, Deng J, Liu M, Liu J. Global, Regional, and National Trends of Measles Burden and Its Vaccination Coverage among Children Under 5 Years Old: An Updated Systematic Analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. International Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2025 Jul; 156: 107908. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2025.107908.
Gastañaduy PA, Goodson JL, Panagiotakopoulos L, Rota PA, Orenstein WA, Patel M. Measles in the 21st century: Progress Toward Achieving and Sustaining Elimination. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2021 Oct; 224(Supplement_4): S420-8. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa793.
Sbarra AN, Mosser JF, Jit M, Ferrari M, Ramshaw RE, O'Connor P et al. Estimating National-Level Measles Case–Fatality Ratios in Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries: An Updated Systematic Review and Modelling Study. The Lancet Global Health. 2023 Apr; 11(4): e516-24. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00043-8.
Nezhoda II, Havryliuk AO, Asaulenko AA, Kholod LP, Onofriychuk Ye S. Measles Pneumonia in Children: Clinical and Morphological Features of the Course. The World of Medicine and Biology. 2020; 16(1 (71)): 88-93. doi: 10.26724/2079-8334-2020-1-71-88-93.
Kakoullis L, Sampsonas F, Giannopoulou E, Kalogeropoulou C, Papachristodoulou E, Tsiamita M et al. Measles‐Associated Pneumonia and Hepatitis During the Measles Outbreak of 2018. International Journal of Clinical Practice. 2020 Feb; 74(2): e13430. doi: 10.1111/ijcp.13430.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Pakistan Journal of Health Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This is an open-access journal and all the published articles / items are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. For comments
