Abstract

Background:Early diagnosis is vital for Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP), a common respiratory infection. Chest X-ray imaging and microbial tests are common diagnostic tools, yet chest radiographic and microbial aetiologies remain complex. This study evaluated thesecorrelations among patientswith CAP in a tertiary care setting in Lagos State, Nigeria.


Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was deployed and data from 94 patients diagnosed with CAP, were extracted from the electronic archive of the Respiratory Departments in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital,between October and December, 2024.


Results: Majority of the participants were female (69.1%) and the mean age of 59.54 ± 18.0 years. A total of 90.4% of blood culture yielded gram negative bacteria while 9.6% indicated gram positive bacteria. Further, only 71.3% of the 94 patients, presented radiologic abnormalities following Chest X-ray imaging with Cardiomegaly, being the modal pathology, as observed in 7.4% of cases, followed by Congestive heart failure in 6.4% of instances. Other lung-related disorders included bronchopneumonia with left atelectasis in 3.2% of cases, left upper lobe consolidation in 3.2%, and right lower lung consolidation in 4.3% of cases. In 4.3% of patients, pleural effusion and signs of pulmonary metastases were observed.


Conclusion:This study highlighted the crucial role of chest X-rays in diagnosing community-acquired pneumonia, revealing a majority of gram- negative bacterial infections. The prevalence of diverse radiographic abnormalities with cardiovascular and respiratory pathologies were more prevalent than other pathologies