Determining if a child has bronchitis or pneumonia

Pediatric Otolaryngologist Nina Shapiro, MD, shares advice for parents on the signs of symptoms that may indicate that your child has bronchitis or pneumonia
How To Determine If A Child Has Bronchitis Or Pneumonia
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Determining if a child has bronchitis or pneumonia

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Children with bronchitis and pneumonia are usually quite ill. These illnesses usually start after a cold and they progress into the lower airways so the bronchitis part is an inflammation or an infection in the lower airways between the throat and the lungs. These kids will have fever and a very deep, wet cough that doesn’t go away in several days. So this is a child who’s had a cold and it just progressed to a worse illness with a very deep cough. A child with pneumonia is usually quite ill. They may have a deep cough, but they may also have a little bit of trouble breathing. They may have a fever that doesn’t go away. And they may just seem quite irritable and lethargic. These are kids that do need to be seen by their doctor. Their doctor can listen to their chest to see if there’s any chest congestion, they may even want to get an x-ray of the chest to see if there’s any fluid collection in their lungs, which may be a sign of pneumonia.

Pediatric Otolaryngologist Nina Shapiro, MD, shares advice for parents on the signs of symptoms that may indicate that your child has bronchitis or pneumonia

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Nina Shapiro, MD

Pediatric Otolaryngologist

Dr. Nina Shapiro is the Director of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat) and an Associate Professor of Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.  As the first fellowship-trained pediatric otolaryngologist at the medical center since it was founded in 1955, her presence has put UCLA 'on the map' in her field.  

A graduate of Harvard Medical School and Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences, she also completed her residency training at Harvard.  She then went on to complete additional subspecialty training in pediatric otolaryngology at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, and The Children's Hospital of San Diego.

A native of New York, Shapiro has been honored with several prestigious awards, including the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology Award for Clinical Research, the UCLA Division of Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Teaching Award, and the American Academy of Pediatrics Young Investigators Award.  She has also been named "Super Doctor" by Los Angeles Magazine, and has been listed in "Who's Who in America".  

She has authored over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles, has edited a pediatric otolaryngology textbook, and is the author of the parenting book Take a Deep Breath: Clear the Air for the Health of Your Child, releaseded in January 2012. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children, and enjoys spending time with them more than anything else in the world.

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Transcription: 
Children with bronchitis and pneumonia are usually quite ill. These illnesses usually start after a cold and they progress into the lower airways so the bronchitis part is an inflammation or an infection in the lower airways between the throat and the lungs. These kids will have fever and a very deep, wet cough that doesn’t go away in several days. So this is a child who’s had a cold and it just progressed to a worse illness with a very deep cough. A child with pneumonia is usually quite ill. They may have a deep cough, but they may also have a little bit of trouble breathing. They may have a fever that doesn’t go away. And they may just seem quite irritable and lethargic. These are kids that do need to be seen by their doctor. Their doctor can listen to their chest to see if there’s any chest congestion, they may even want to get an x-ray of the chest to see if there’s any fluid collection in their lungs, which may be a sign of pneumonia.