Routine immunization with 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) was introduced in Kathmandu in 2015 with doses administered at 6 weeks, 10 weeks and 9 months of age. We assessed the impact of PCV10 on the prevalence of radiographic changes in children aged 2 months to 14 years with a clinical diagnosis of pneumonia admitted to Patan Hospital, Kathmandu.
Digitalized chest radiographs were interpreted using standardized WHO criteria as primary endpoint pneumonia (PEP), other infiltrate or normal, by two specific readers. A third reader arbitrated upon all discordant results.
From March 2014 to December 2018, 1755 children were enrolled, of whom 1692 (96%) had interpretable radiographs. The proportion of children with PEP decreased annually from 84/189 (44%) in 2014 to 105/414 (25%) in 2018 (p<0.001). PEP was associated with age, occurring in 247/1090 (22%) children <2 years of age, in comparison with 120/175 (69%) children ≥5 years of age (p<0.001), and carriage of PCV10 serotypes, occurring in 95/188 (51%) children with PCV10 carriage in comparison with 459/1504 (31%) children with non-PCV10 serotypes or no carriage (p<0.001).
The prevalence of PEP in children hospitalized with pneumonia decreased from 2014 to 2018 in association with the implementation of PCV10 immunization in Kathmandu.