pneumonia

Hi
Hassan was diagnosed with pneumonia a week after his BT. Although the infection was mild to moderate he had severe pleural effusions and had to be in hospital for 8 days. At the time of admission his hb was 11.5 hg and a week later it was surprisingly 11.4. His pre tx hb was 9.6 and was transfused with 315cc for his 21.6 kg. I was actually expecting a huge drop in hb but it hardly changed. How could have this happened?

Maha

The true Hb level may have been affected by dehydration due to the pneumonia. The lower the level of hydration, the higher the Hb will appear to be.

His diagnosis of pneumonia was quite a shocker. I took him to hospital on the fourth day of fever. He had had a mild fever which would surface in the afternoon and on the fourth day he didn't even record a temperature. He was eating well and had had juice and water before the tests.

Andy, the novel coronavirus has surfaced in saudi especially in the eastern province where I reside. The symptoms are the same as pneumonia. Do you know what tests detects the virus. Hassan's CRP showed a mild increase at the time of admission and was 0 at the time of discharge. Will this test read the coronavirus if it was present?

If it is true, I suggest immediately talk to doctor to rule out novel coronavirus. Please keep informed.

They don't usually test for coronavirus because the illness is usually mild and only lasts a few days. Coronavirus is not pneumonia but can cause pneumonia, so it could be possible that is what happened. The CRP will rise in the presence of inflammation and pneumonia would involve both infection and inflammation. Once the child is better, the CRP should be normal, as you observed.