pedCAPNETZ – Multicenter cohorts for community-acquired pneumonia in childhood and youth

15.09.2017

Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) in childhood and adolescence is, according to the WHO, one of the most common causes of death in children under 5 years of age. Improvement in the vaccination situation and good treatment possibilities have led to a significant reduction in mortality in developing countries. However, pneumonia is still responsible for 20% of hospital admissions.

Data on the epidemiology of CAP in Germany, on risk factors, course of the disease and the range of causes in children are limited. Since at the start of the disease the cause is mostly unknown, treatment is initially only empirical. For an empirical therapy to be successful, however, it is essential to know the range of causes and the regional situation regarding resistance against antibiotics. A considerable contribution towards improving the data situation on CAP in adults has been made by the Competence Network for Community-Acquired Pneumonia¹, which is today run by the CAPNETZ FOUNDATION. The Foundation is an associate partner of the German Center for Lung Research.

In order to rectify this lack of knowledge for children in the same way, a study on community-acquired pneumonia in childhood and adolescence was started in 2013 in cooperation with Hannover Medical School (MHH)² and the CAPNETZ FOUNDATION¹. Alongside improved understanding of the pathogenesis of CAP, the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic methods as well as the assembly of relevant treatment guidelines belong to the targets set by pedCAPNETZ.

By the summer of 2017, 300 children and adolescents had been recruited for the multicenter study and a vast amount of data and sample material collected. The childhood study, started initially as a pilot project, will be financed by the German Center for Lung Research (DZL) at its BREATH³ site at the MHH. The study infrastructure established by CAPNETZ will be used effectively to carry out the study.

The children and adolescents will be registered in the pedCAPNETZ study concurrently at Hannover Medical School², the University Clinic Schleswig-Holstein in Lübeck⁴ and Kiel⁵, Klinikum Oldenburg⁶ and at the University Clinic Dresden⁷. To extend the study network, further study centers will follow.

¹www.capnetz.de

²www.mh-hannover.de/pap.html

³www.breath-hannover.de

⁴www.uksh.de/kinderpneumologie/

⁵www.uksh.de/kinderklinik-kiel

⁶https://www.klinikum-oldenburg.de/de/patienten/klinik_fuer_paediatrische_pneumologie_und_allergologie__neonatologie_und_intensivmedizin

⁷www.uniklinikum-dresden.de/de/das-klinikum/kliniken-polikliniken-institute/kik/bereiche/fachbereiche/pneumologie-allergologie

Text: CAPNETZ STIFTUNG
Picture: Karin Kaiser/ MHH press office

(from left to right): Margit Abrahamczik, Prof. Tobias Welte, Grit Barten, Prof. Gesine Hansen, Dr. Martin Wetzke, Dr. Annegret Zurawski

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