Managing childhood pneumonia

doi:10.1136/dtb.1997.351289

Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin 1997;35:89-92; doi:10.1136/dtb.1997.351289

Managing childhood pneumonia

Relevant BNF section: 5.1

The upper and lower airways of the respiratory tract are themost common sites of infection in childhood. Infection of theupper respiratory tract is usually viral and mild, and in mostcases can be managed symptomatically. Infection of the lowerrespiratory tract (pneumonia) is often more difficult to manage:problems may include deciding whether the child needs antibiotictherapy, choosing an appropriate drug and judging whether referralto hospital is required. Here we consider the causes, diagnosisand treatment of community-acquired pneumonia in previouslyhealthy children presenting to the GP.