Gut And Respiratory Microbiota in Overweight Children with Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Altered microbial communities may modify respiratory inflammation in children with excess body weight. This prospective comparative study examined culture-based intestinal and upper-airway microbiota findings and clinical characteristics in 60 hospitalized children aged 3–7 years with radiologically confirmed community-acquired pneumonia (CAP): 30 with overweight or obesity and 30 with normal weight; 20 healthy children were also enrolled as controls. Nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal and stool specimens were collected, and systemic inflammatory markers were assessed. Compared with normal-weight patients, overweight/obese children had more bronchial obstruction (63.3% vs 30.0%), prolonged cough (73.3% vs 43.3%) and elevated C-reactive protein (32.4 ± 6.9 vs 20.8 ± 4.7 mg/L; source-reported summary values). Reduced Bifidobacterium spp. was recorded in 76.7% versus 30.0%, and grade III dysbiosis in 46.7% versus 13.3%. Upper-airway mixed microbial growth was observed in 53.3% versus 23.3%. The source reported an inverse association between Bifidobacterium counts and C-reactive protein (r = −0.61) and a positive association between dysbiosis grade and length of stay (r = 0.58). These observations suggest associations among nutritional status, culture-defined microbial imbalance and the clinical course of CAP. Because the intervention protocol and several analytic details were not supplied, a specific treatment benefit or causal gut–lung mechanism cannot be established.