Comparative assessment of different antibiotic treatment in children with community acquired pneumonia: A prospective study

Abstract

Background and Aim: Pneumonia is the leading single cause of mortality in children aged less than five years, with an estimated incidence of 0.29 and 0.05 episodes per child-year in low-income and high-income countries, respectively. Present study was performed with an aim to access the clinical course and outcome of children hospitalized with CAP and compare the efficacy of intravenous amoxiclav with ceftriaxone. Material and Methods: Present prospective study was performed in120 Paediatric patients at Tertiary Care Institute of India for the period of one year. Patients aged below 5 years were included in this study. Outcome variables included duration of fever, number of days of oxygen treatment, duration of total IV antibiotic therapy, treatment failure, and duration of hospital stay. All the patients were divided broadly into two study groups with 60 patients in each group. Group 1 included patients who received intravenous amoxiclav, Group 2 included patients who received intravenous ceftriaxone.Results: There was significant variation in initial therapy choice across hospitals; the rate of narrow-spectrum use ranged from 17.6% to 91.4%. There was no significant difference in duration of oxygen, duration of fever, or readmission rate within 7 days. However, hospital stay was found to be longer in Group 2 as compared to Group 1.Conclusion: Amoxclav and ceftriaxone are equally effective in children suffering from CAP. Amoxclav can be easily used in uncomplicated case of CAP. No complications were observed in present study and readmission rate was found almost negligible.