Salivary Cortisol as a Marker for Pneumonia Severity

Abstract

 Pneumonia is still the most common cause of death in children under five years of age. This is most significant in developing countries, where incidence rates are up to ten times greater than in developed countries.  Cortisol is considered as useful biomarker for the prognosis of pneumonia. Salivary cortisol is not protein bounded as in serum, reflecting free cortisol, as though to be more accurate. It is non invasive method in children.