Timing of antibiotic critical in childhood pneumonia

Correct and rapid antibiotic treatment is crucial for treating critically ill young children with bacterial pneumonia. Even a few hours' delay can lead to a longer hospital stay.

The impact of timing of appropriate antibiotic treatment for critically ill children with severe pneumonia had not been explored earlier. To study this, researchers looked at 45 infants and children, median age 17 months, who had severe bacterial pneumonia and required treatment with a ventilator. Children with viral pneumonia or hospital-associated pneumonia were not included in the study.

Of the 45 patients in this study, 70 percent were initially treated with the correct antibiotic. When these patients and patients whose initial antibiotic was changed after testing were looked at as a group, the median time to treatment with the correct antibiotic was about 10 hours, with a range of two to 38 hours.

Overall, children who received the correct antibiotic sooner spent fewer days in the hospital. For children with pneumonia as their only medical problem, waiting longer for correct antibiotic treatment was associated not only with a longer hospital stay, but with more time on the ventilator as well as in the intensive care unit.

The findings show that delays in treating childhood pneumonia with the right antibiotic can adversely affect the recovery.