Necrotizing pneumonia in children: Report of 25 cases between 2008 and 2018 at a French tertiary care center.

BACKGROUND: Necrotizing pneumonia (NP) is a serious and rare disease in children. Pediatric data on NP are limited and the impact of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has been very poorly evaluated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study at Toulouse University Hospital between 2008 and 2018. Children who presented with thin-walled cavities in the areas of parenchymal consolidation on imaging were included in the study. RESULTS: The incidence of NP did not decrease during this period. Bacterial identification occurred in 56% of cases (14/25) and included six cases of Streptococcus pneumoniae, five of Staphylococcus aureus, two of Streptococcus pyogenes, and one of Streptococcus viridans. Streptococcus pneumoniae NP are more frequently associated with empyema/parapneumonic effusion compared to S. aureus NP (p = 0.02). Patients with S. pyogenes NP more often required volume expansion than did S. pneumoniae cases (p = 0.03). When comparing children born before and after implementation of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, we identified a relative modification of the bacterial epidemiology, with an increase in the proportion of S. pyogenes NP and S. aureus NP and a decrease in the proportion of NP caused by S. pneumoniae. CONCLUSION: Future studies are needed to assess the epidemiology of NP in children. Continued surveillance of identified pneumococcal serotypes is essential to document epidemiological changes in the coming years.

Effectiveness of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on radiological primary end-point pneumonia among cases of severe community acquired pneumonia in children: A prospective multi-site hospital-based test-negative study in Northern India.

INTRODUCTION: Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of under-five mortality in India and Streptococcus pneumoniae is the main bacterial pathogen for it. Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine 13 (PCV13) has been introduced in a phased manner, in the national immunization program of India since 2017/2018. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of PCV13 on chest radiograph (CXR)-confirmed pneumonia, in children hospitalized with WHO-defined severe CAP. METHODS: This prospective, multi-site test-negative study was conducted in a hospital-network situated in three districts of Northern India where PCV13 had been introduced. Children aged 2-23 months, hospitalized with severe CAP and with interpretable CXR were included after parental consent. Clinical data was extracted from hospital records. CXRs were interpreted by a panel of three independent blinded trained radiologists. Exposure to PCV13 was defined as ≥2 doses of PCV13 in children aged ≤ 12 months and ≥ 1 dose(s) in children > 12 months of age. Our outcome measures were CXR finding of primary endpoint pneumonia with or without other infiltrates (PEP±OI); vaccine effectiveness (VE) and hospital mortality. RESULTS: From 1st June 2017-30th April 2021, among 2711 children included, 678 (25.0%) were exposed to PCV1. CXR positive for PEP±OI on CXR was found in 579 (21.4%), of which 103 (17.8%) were exposed to PCV. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for PEP±OI among the exposed group was 0.69 (95% CI, 0.54-0.89, p = 0.004). Adjusted VE was 31.0% (95% CI: 11.0-44.0) for PEP±OI. AOR for hospital mortality with PEP±OI was 2.65 (95% CI: 1.27-5.53, p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: In severe CAP, children exposed to PCV13 had significantly reduced odds of having PEP±OI. Since PEP±OI had increased odds of hospital mortality due to CAP, countrywide coverage with PCV13 is an essential priority.

Effectiveness of the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on pediatric pneumonia confirmed by ultrasound: a matched case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Bangladesh introduced the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) for children aged < 1 year in March 2015. Previous vaccine effectiveness (VE) studies for pneumonia have used invasive pneumococcal disease or chest X-rays. None have used ultrasound. We sought to determine the VE of PCV10 against sonographically-confirmed pneumonia in three subdistrict health complexes in Bangladesh. METHODS: We conducted a matched case-control study between July 2015 and September 2017 in three subdistricts of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Cases were vaccine-eligible children aged 3-35 months with sonographically-confirmed pneumonia, who were matched with two types of controls by age, sex, week of diagnosis, subdistrict health complex (clinic controls) or distance from subdistrict health complex (community controls) and had an illness unlikely due to Streptococcus pneumoniae (clinic controls) or were healthy (community controls). VE was measured using multivariable conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: We evaluated 8926 children (average age 13.3 months, 58% boys) with clinical pneumonia by ultrasound; 2470 had pneumonia with consolidations ≥ 1 cm; 1893 pneumonia cases were matched with 4238 clinic controls; and 1832 were matched with 3636 community controls. VE increased with the threshold used for consolidation size on ultrasound: the adjusted VE of ≥ 2 doses vs. non-recipients of PCV10 against pneumonia increased from 15.8% (95% CI 1.6-28.0%) for consolidations ≥ 1 cm to 29.6% (12.8-43.2%) for consolidations ≥ 1.5 cm using clinic controls and from 2.7% (- 14.2-17.2%) to 23.5% (4.4-38.8%) using community controls, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: PCV10 was effective at reducing sonographically-confirmed pneumonia in children aged 3-35 months of age when compared to unvaccinated children. VE increased with the threshold used for consolidation size on ultrasound in clinic and community controls alike. This study provides evidence that lung ultrasound is a useful alternative to chest X-ray for case-control studies evaluating the effectiveness of vaccines against pneumonia.

CT features of community-acquired pneumonia at the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Chest computed tomography (CT) was reported to improve the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) as compared to chest X-ray (CXR). The aim of this study is to describe the CT-patterns of CAP in a large population visiting the emergency department and to see if some of them are more frequently missed on CXR. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is an ancillary analysis of the prospective multicenter ESCAPED study including 319 patients. We selected the 163 definite or probable CAP based on adjudication committee classification; 147 available chest CT scans were reinterpreted by 3 chest radiologists to identify CAP patterns. These CT-patterns were correlated to epidemiological, biological and microbiological data, and compared between false negative and true positive CXR CAP. RESULTS: Six patterns were identified: lobar pneumonia (51/147, 35%), including 35 with plurifocal involvement; lobular pneumonia (43/147, 29%); unilobar infra-segmental consolidation (24/147, 16%); bronchiolitis (16/147, 11%), including 4 unilobar bronchiolitis; atelectasis and bronchial abnormalities (8/147, 5.5%); interstitial pneumonia (5/147, 3.5%). Bacteria were isolated in 41% of patients with lobar pneumonia-pattern (mostly Streptococcus pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumonia) versus 19% in other patients (p = 0.01). Respiratory viruses were equally distributed within all patterns. CXR was falsely negative in 46/147 (31%) patients. Lobar pneumonia was significantly less missed on CXR than other patterns (p = 0.003), especially lobular pneumonia and unilobar infra-segmental consolidation, missed in 35% and 58% of cases, respectively. CONCLUSION: Lobar and lobular pneumonias are the most frequent CT-patterns. Lobar pneumonia is appropriately detected on CXR and mainly due to Streptococcus pneumoniae or Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Chest CT is very useful to identify CAP in other CT-patterns. Prior the COVID pandemic, CAP was rarely responsible for interstitial opacities on CT.

Differential diagnosis between the coronavirus disease 2019 and Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia by thin-slice CT features.

OBJECTIVE: The chest computed tomography (CT) features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia (S. pneumoniae pneumonia) were compared to provide further evidence for the differential imaging diagnosis of patients with these two types of pneumonia. METHODS: Clinical information and chest CT data of 149 COVID-19 patients between January 9, 2020 and March 15, 2020 and 97 patients with S. pneumoniae pneumonia between January 23, 2011 and March 18, 2020 in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University were retrospectively analyzed. In addition, CT features were comparatively analyzed. RESULTS: According to the chest CT images, the probability of lung segmental and lobar pneumonia in S. pneumoniae pneumonia was higher than that in COVID-19(P<0.001); the probabilities of ground-glass opacity (GGO), the "crazy paving" sign, and abnormally thickened interlobular septa in COVID-19 were higher than those in S. pneumoniae pneumonia(P = 0.005, P<0.001, P<0.001, respectively); and the probabilities of consolidation lesions, bronchial wall thickening, centrilobular nodules, and pleural effusion in S. pneumoniae pneumonia were higher than those in COVID-19 (P<0.001, P = 0.001, P = 0.003, P = 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: The findings of GGO, the crazy paving sign, and abnormally thickened interlobular septa on chest CT were significantly higher in COVID-19 than S. pneumoniae pneumonia. The most important differential points on chest CT signs between COVID-19 and S. pneumoniae pneumonia were whether disease lesions were distributed in entire lung lobes and segments and whether the crazy paving sign, interlobular septal thickening, and consolidation lesions were found.

Pneumococcal superinfection in COVID-19 patients: A series of 5 cases.

BACKGROUND: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic the risk of misdiagnosis of other causes of respiratory infection is likely. In this work we aim to describe the clinical characteristics, treatment and outcome of pneumococcal infection in COVID-19 patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Every COVID-19 patient presenting with concomitant pneumococcal pneumonia during March 2020 in a tertiary teaching Hospital In Barcelona, Spain. RESULTS: Five patients with PCR confirmed COVID19 or clinical and radiological suspicion were diagnosed of pneumococcal infection. In all cases chest X-ray were abnormal, with unilateral or bilateral infiltrates. Procalcitonin showed to be not sensitive enough to detect pneumococcal infection. Antibiotherapy was promptly started in all five cases with subsequent satisfactory evolution. CONCLUSION: International guidelines do not include the universal screening for bacterial co-infection. Radiological pattern of COVID-19 can be indistinguishable from that of pneumococcus pneumonia and frequency of co-infection is not well stablished, therefore clinicians should be aware of the possible SARS-CoV-2-pneumococcus association to avoid misdiagnosis and delay antibiotic therapy.

Chest radiograph findings in children aged 2-59 months hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia, prior to the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in India: a prospective multisite observational study.

OBJECTIVES: The current study was a hospital-based surveillance of cases hospitalised with WHO-defined community-acquired pneumonia in children aged 2-59 months, to assess the radiological abnormalities in chest X-rays and to identify the demographic and clinical correlates of specific radiological abnormalities, in residents of prespecified districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. DESIGN: Prospective, active, hospital-based surveillance. SETTING: Multisite study conducted in a network of 117 secondary/tertiary care hospitals in four districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. PARTICIPANTS: Included were children aged 2-59 months, hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia, residing in the project district, with duration of illness <14 days and who had not been hospitalised elsewhere for this episode nor had been recruited previously. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Concordant radiological abnormalities in the chest X-rays. RESULTS: From January 2015 to April 2017, 3214 cases were recruited and in 99.40% (3195/3214) chest X-rays were available, among which 88.54% (2829/3195) were interpretable. Relevant radiological abnormalities were found in 34.53% (977/2829, 95% CI 32.78 to 36.28). These were primary end point pneumonia alone or with other infiltrates in 22.44% (635/2829, 95% CI 20.90% to 23.98%) and other infiltrates in 12.09% (342/2829; 95% CI 10.88% to 13.29%). There was a statistically significant interdistrict variation in radiological abnormalities. Statistically significantly higher proportion of abnormal chest X-rays were found in girls, those with weight-for-age z-score ≤-3SD, longer duration of fever, pallor and with exposure to biomass fuel. CONCLUSIONS: Among hospitalised cases of community-acquired pneumonia, almost one-third children had abnormal chest radiographs, which were higher in females, malnourished children and those with longer illnesses; and an intra-district variation was observed.

Splenic volume in pneumococcal pneumonia patients is associated with disease severity and mortality.

Splenectomy is a risk factor for serious pneumococcal disease like overwhelming post-splenectomy infection (OPSI). In healthy individuals with small spleen, fulminant pneumococcal infection similar to OPSI has been reported. Furthermore, it is reported that small spleen was associated with severe pneumococcal infection patients treated in an intensive care unit. However, the association between the small spleen and pneumococcal pneumonia was not investigated enough. We retrospectively analyzed patients with pneumococcal pneumonia who underwent computed tomography examination with measurement of the splenic volume at Harasanshin Hospital between 2004 and 2019. Data on their background characteristics, laboratory findings, and clinical courses were collected. 413 patients were included in the final analysis. The splenic volume was significantly lower in the moderate (P < 0.001), severe (P < 0.00005), and extremely severe (P < 0.001) pneumonia groups compared with the mild pneumonia group. Furthermore, the splenic volume was significantly lower in patients died within 30 days of pneumonia treatment (median of 73.49 versus 110.77 cm3, P < 0.005) or during hospitalization (median of 71.69 versus 111.01 cm3, P < 0.0005). Splenic volume <40 cm3 was significantly associated with mortality within 30 days and total hospital mortality as a risk factor in univariate analysis. Splenic volume <40 cm3 was an independent risk factor for mortality within 30 days (odds ratio: 5.0, 95% confidence interval: 1.2-21.1, P < 0.05) and total hospital mortality (odds ratio: 7.4, 95% confidence interval: 1.8-30.6, P < 0.01) in multivariate logistic regression analysis. These results suggest that small spleen is a risk factor for severity and mortality of pneumococcal pneumonia.

Chest radiograph reading panel performance in a Bangladesh pneumococcal vaccine effectiveness study.

Introduction: To evaluate WHO chest radiograph interpretation processes during a pneumococcal vaccine effectiveness study of children aged 3-35 months with suspected pneumonia in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Methods: Eight physicians masked to all data were standardised to WHO methodology and interpreted chest radiographs between 2015 and 2017. Each radiograph was randomly assigned to two primary readers. If the primary readers were discordant for image interpretability or the presence or absence of primary endpoint pneumonia (PEP), then another randomly selected, masked reader adjudicated the image (arbitrator). If the arbitrator disagreed with both primary readers, or concluded no PEP, then a masked expert reader finalised the interpretation. The expert reader also conducted blinded quality control (QC) for 20% of randomly selected images. We evaluated agreement between primary readers and between the expert QC reading and the final panel interpretation using per cent agreement, unadjusted Cohen's kappa, and a prevalence and bias-adjusted kappa. Results: Among 9723 images, the panel classified 21.3% as PEP, 77.6% no PEP and 1.1% uninterpretable. Two primary readers agreed on interpretability for 98% of images (kappa, 0.25; prevalence and bias-adjusted kappa, 0.97). Among interpretable radiographs, primary readers agreed on the presence or absence of PEP in 79% of images (kappa, 0.35; adjusted kappa, 0.57). Expert QC readings agreed with final panel conclusions on the presence or absence of PEP for 92.9% of 1652 interpretable images (kappa, 0.75; adjusted kappa, 0.85). Conclusion: Primary reader performance and QC results suggest the panel effectively applied the WHO chest radiograph criteria for pneumonia.

Clinical, functional, and radiological outcome in children with pleural empyema.

INTRODUCTION: Few studies have prospectively evaluated recovery process and long-term consequences of pleural space infections. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate clinical, pulmonary, and diaphragmatic function and radiological outcome in patients hospitalized with pleural empyema. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Previously healthy patients from 6 to 16 years were enrolled. Demographic, clinical, and treatment data were registered. At hospital discharge, and every 30 days or until normalization, patients underwent a clinical evaluation, diaphragmatic ultrasound, and lung function testing. Chest radiographs were performed at subsequent visits only if abnormalities persisted. RESULTS: Thirty patients were included. Nineteen (63%) were male, with an age of (mean ± SD) 9.7 ± 3.2 years, and body mass index (mean ± SD) 18.6 ± 3. Twelve patients (40%) were treated with chest tube drainage only, 12 (40%) exclusively with surgery, and 6 (20%) completed treatment with surgery due to an ineffective chest tube drainage. At hospital discharge, 26 (87%) of patients had abnormal breath sounds at the site of infection, 28 (93%) had a spirometric restrictive pattern, 19 (63%) diaphragmatic motion impairment, and 29 (97%) presented radiological involvement of pleural space, mainly pleural thickening. All patients had recovered diaphragmatic motion and were asymptomatic at 90- and 120-day follow-up control, respectively. Then, with a great individual variability, radiological findings, and lung function returned to normal at 60 days (range 30-180) and 90 days (range 30-180) after hospital discharge, respectively. CONCLUSION: Patients with pleural empyema had a complete and progressive recovery, with initial clinical and diaphragmatic motion normalization followed by radiological and lung function recovery.

Evaluation of the Sofia Streptococcus pneumoniae FIA test for the detection of S. pneumoniae antigen in urine.

In this study, we evaluated the Sofia Streptococcus pneumoniae FIA test (Quidel Corporation, San Diego, CA, USA), a new immunofluorescence-based lateral flow test for the qualitative detection of S. pneumoniae antigen in urine or cerebrospinal fluid specimens. The analyses of 100 non-concentrated urine samples (including 50 samples from S. pneumoniae cases) showed a sensitivity and specificity (95 % CI) of, respectively, 66.0 % (52.2-77.6) and 100.0 % (92.9-100.0) for the Sofia test, and 62.0 % (48.2-74.1) and 98.0 % (89.5-99.7) for the BinaxNOW SPN Antigen Card. There were no significant differences in sensitivity and specificity between the tests (McNemar's tests, P=0.625 and P=1.000). In conclusion, this study indicates that the Streptococcus pneumoniae FIA test shows similar sensitivity and specificity rates compared to the BinaxNOW SPN Antigen Card.

Reliability and validity of the World Health Organization reading standards for paediatric chest radiographs used in the field in an impact study of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Kilifi, Kenya.

BACKGROUND: Radiologically-confirmed pneumonia (RCP) is a specific end-point used in trials of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) to estimate vaccine efficacy. However, chest radiograph (CXR) interpretation varies within and between readers. We measured the repeatability and reliability of paediatric CXR interpretation using percent agreement and Cohen's Kappa and the validity of field readings against expert review in a study of the impact of PCV on pneumonia. METHODS: CXRs were obtained from 2716 children admitted between 2006 and 2014 to Kilifi County Hospital, Kilifi, Kenya, with clinically-defined severe or very-severe pneumonia. Five clinicians and radiologists attended a three-day training course on CXR interpretation using a WHO standard. All CXRs were read once by two local primary readers. Discordant readings and 13% of concordant readings were arbitrated by a panel of three expert radiologists. To assess repeatability, a 5% median random sample was presented twice. Sensitivity and specificity of the primary readers' interpretations was estimated against the 'gold-standard' of the arbitrators' results. RESULTS: Of 2716 CXRs, 2 were uninterpretable and 159 were evaluated twice. The percent agreement and Kappa for RCP were 89% and 0.68 and ranged between 84-97% and 0.19-0.68, respectively, for all pathological findings. Intra-observer repeatability was similar to inter-observer reliability. Sensitivities of the primary readers to detect RCP were 69% and 73%; specificities were 96% and 95%. CONCLUSION: Intra- and inter-observer agreements on interpretations of radiologically-confirmed pneumonia are fair to good. Reasonable sensitivity and high specificity make radiologically-confirmed pneumonia, determined in the field, a suitable measure of relative vaccine effectiveness.

Infection by Streptococcus pneumoniae in children with or without radiologically confirmed pneumonia.

OBJECTIVE: Community-acquired pneumonia is an important cause of morbidity in childhood, but the detection of its causative agent remains a diagnostic challenge. The authors aimed to evaluate the role of the chest radiograph to identify cases of community-aquired pneumonia caused by typical bacteria. METHODS: The frequency of infection by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis was compared in non-hospitalized children with clinical diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia aged 2-59 months with or without radiological confirmation (n=249 and 366, respectively). Infection by S. pneumoniae was diagnosed by the detection of a serological response against at least one of eight pneumococcal proteins (defined as an increase ≥2-fold in the IgG levels against Ply, CbpA, PspA1 and PspA2, PhtD, StkP-C, and PcsB-N, or an increase ≥1.5-fold against PcpA). Infection by H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis was defined as an increase ≥2-fold on the levels of microbe-specific IgG. RESULTS: Children with radiologically confirmed pneumonia had higher rates of infection by S. pneumoniae. The presence of pneumococcal infection increased the odds of having radiologically confirmed pneumonia by 2.8 times (95% CI: 1.8-4.3). The negative predictive value of the normal chest radiograph for infection by S. pneumoniae was 86.3% (95% CI: 82.4-89.7%). There was no difference on the rates of infection by H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis between children with community-acquired pneumonia with and without radiological confirmation. CONCLUSIONS: Among children with clinical diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia submitted to chest radiograph, those with radiologically confirmed pneumonia present a higher rate of infection by S. pneumoniae when compared with those with a normal chest radiograph.

Síndrome de Austrian: reporte de caso / Austrian syndrome: report of one case

Austrian syndrome is a triad characterized by pneumonia, meningitis and endocarditis, as a result of a Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteremia. We report a previously healthy 49 year-old male, who consulted at the emergency care unit with a history of one week of pleuritic pain, fever leading to an altered level of consciousness and seizures. A diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia and meningitis was reached, isolating Streptococcus pneumoniae in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood cultures. Antibiotic treatment was started but the patient had an unsatisfactory response. During hospitalization a new heart murmur was found in the physical examination. An echocardiography was performed and a massive aortic valve insufficiency was found along with vegetations and a perforation of the same valve. The valve was replaced by a prosthetic one and the patient responded satisfactorily to the surgical and antibiotic treatment, without complications.

Successful medical management of a case of Austrian syndrome-an uncommon entity in the modern antibiotic era: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Austrian syndrome-the combination of meningitis, pneumonia and infective endocarditis due to Streptococcus pneumoniae infection, is a rare entity. In literature only a few hundreds of cases are reported but surprisingly we did not find any report on Austrian syndrome in or from Bangladesh. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case history of a middle aged Bangladeshi diabetic man, who had fever, cough, shortness of breath and altered mentation. He had tachycardia, bi-basal lung crepitations, new cardiac murmurs and meningism. Diagnostic work-up revealed Austrian syndrome. Because of the rarity of the condition, this case is reported. CONCLUSION: A case of pneumococcal pneumonia or meningitis should raise suspicion of concomitant endocarditis and Austrian syndrome, specially if there is heart failure, as early recognition and treatment may appear life-saving.

Evaluation of chest radiography, lytA real-time PCR, and other routine tests for diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia and estimation of possible attributable fraction of pneumococcus in northern Togo.

Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) is a leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), yet existing diagnostic tools remain inadequate. We aimed to evaluate laboratory and radiological methods for detecting pneumococcal aetiology in CAP patients and to estimate Spn prevalence in this group. All-aged patients hospitalized with clinically defined CAP in northern Togo were enrolled during 2010-2013. Latent class analysis pooled results of semi-automated blood culture (SABC), whole blood lytA real-time polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR), serum C-reactive protein (CRP), and chest radiography (CXR) and categorized patients as likely pneumococcal or non-pneumococcal CAP. We enrolled 1684 patients; 1501 had results for all tests. CXR, SABC, lytA rt-PCR and CRP >71·2 mg/l had sensitivities of 94% [95% confidence interval (CI) 87-100], 13% (95% CI 10-16), 17% (95% CI 14-21) and 78% (95% CI 75-80), and specificities of 88% (95% CI 84-93), 100% (95% CI 99-100), 97% (95% CI 96-99) and 77% (95% CI 75-79), respectively. Pneumococcal attributable proportion was 34% (95% CI 32-37), increasing with age and in men. We estimated that Spn caused one third of CAP. Whole blood lytA rt-PCR was more sensitive than SABC; both had low sensitivity and high specificity. Conversely CXR was highly sensitive and reasonably specific; it could be a useful tool for epidemiological studies aiming to define Spn pneumonia incidence across all ages.