Sheffield Children's Hospital projects

Retrospective analysis of necrotizing pneumonia in paediatric patients over a decade: predictors of prognosis and management outcomes

What are the clinical, demographic, and microbiological factors associated with necrotizing pneumonia in children, and can early indicators during initial illness help predict prognosis and improve management strategies?

Learn more about this project

Supervisors

Dr Kelechi Ugonna (k.ugonna@nhs.net)     

Dr Sonal Kansra (sonal.kansra@nhs.net) 

Abstract and methodology

Aims

• To analyze the clinical presentation, demographics, and infecting organisms in paediatric patients admitted with necrotizing pneumonia over the past 10 years.
• To assess the severity of illness and identify any associated complications in the short, medium, and long term.

Objectives 

• To determine if there are specific clinical markers, laboratory findings, or other early indicators that can predict disease severity and prognosis.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of different management strategies and their outcomes in relation to early presenting signs and infecting organisms.

This study will employ a retrospective cohort design, reviewing medical records of paediatric patients admitted to the children's hospital with necrotizing pneumonia over the last 10 years. Key data will include patient demographics, initial presenting symptoms, infecting organisms, illness severity (duration of hospital stay, ICU admission), and complications. Statistical analysis will be used to identify correlations between early clinical markers and outcomes, as well as to compare management strategies. Ethical approval and appropriate data protection protocols will be followed given the sensitive nature of patient data

Type of project

Clinical project - based in the clinical environment with patients/including service evaluation

Additional training or teaching

As part of this project, the student will receive training in retrospective data collection and management, including navigating hospital databases and medical records systems. They will also gain skills in statistical analysis, learning to use software like SPSS or R for analyzing correlations and outcomes. 

The student will have the opportunity to collaborate with clinical teams to better understand patient management strategies and decision-making processes in paediatric care. Additionally, the student will be guided through the process of ethical approval applications and data protection principles in clinical research.

Ethics requirements

NHS service evaluation number required.

University of Sheffield ethics will additionally be required.