Necrotizing adenoviral pneumonia: manifestation of nosocomial infection in pediatric intensive care unit.

A 5-year-old child admitted in the pediatric intensive care unit developed fever and crepitations in the chest on 6(th) day of admission. She succumbed to her illness depite administration of adequate supportive and ventilatory care and anti-microbial therapy. At autopsy, she was diagnosed to have chronic ligneous type of tuberculous meningitis and necrotizing adnoviral pneumonia. There are hardly any reports of nosocomial adenoviral pneumonia from Indian centers. The case serves to remind intensivists to consider this diagnosis so that appropriate therapeutic adjustments and measures to prevent the spread of infection to other critically ill subjects are initiated.