Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children in Oslo, Norway.

Aim: To investigate the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children before the introduction of the 7-valent pneumococcal vaccine in the national vaccination programme.

Methods: For the period 21 May 2003 to 20 May 2005 hospitalization rates for pneumonia in children were obtained from retrospective studies of medical journals. Pneumonia was also studied prospectively in children less than sixteen years old referred to Ullevål University Hospital (Oslo) in the same time period.