Nutritional status and diarrheal illness as independent risk factors for alveolar pneumonia.

Community-acquired alveolar pneumonia (CAAP) is typically associated with bacterial infections and is especially prevalent in vulnerable populations worldwide. The authors studied nutritional status and diarrheal history as risk factors for CAAP in Bedouin children <5 years of age living in Israel. In this prospective case-control study (2001-2002), 334 children with radiographically confirmed CAAP were compared with 529 controls without pneumonia with regard to nutritional status and diarrhea history.