Sci. & Tech.
Home care for pneumatic children as effective as hospital

New York (PTI): In a finding which could be useful to children in developing countries where ready-access to hospitals is mostly unavailable, a UN-backed study shows that home and hospital treatment of the kids suffering from severe pneumonia is equally effective.

With about four children dying from pneumonia every minute, the disease is the largest killer of children under the age of five worldwide, according to statistics released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The study published in the Lancet showed that 8.6 per cent of treatment failures occurred in pneumonia affected children, who were sent to hospitals against 7.5 per cent among those treated at home.

The finding assumes importance for the poor nations, where a majority of cases occur and access to hospitals is not readily available. However, the in-patient treatment might be difficult for parents who cannot be with their sick child.

The study conducted in Pakistan by researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health and supported by WHO and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) involved over 2,000 children with severe pneumonia, who were randomly assigned to receive injectable antibiotics in a hospital or take antibiotic pills at home.

"The potential impact of these results is enormous," said Shamim Qazi, Medical Officer with WHO's Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development. "Effective management of pneumonia is critical to improving child survival."

Treating children for pneumonia at home would be a huge benefit, both to families and health systems, Qazi added, noting that WHO's 2008 guidelines will be updated to reflect the results of the new research.

Many children with severe pneumonia referred for admission to hospitals either die before reaching there or are so sick by the time they arrive that nothing can be done to save them.

The study says some 60 per cent of pneumonia cases in the developing countries are caused by bacteria and are therefore, treatable with antibiotics. But in the developed nations, most the cases are viral.

Around 2 to 3 per cent of all pneumonia cases will still need treatment with injectable antibiotics at a hospital, the study said.

Sci. & Tech.

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