Treating Pneumonia at Home

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

13 Jan 2008 07:03 PM

A new study from Boston University reports that treating children who have pneumonia at home can be just as safe and effective as hospital care.

Some pneumonia statistics:

• Pneumonia is the leading killer of children around the world.
• Pneumonia leads to approximately two million deaths in children under the age of five each year.

In countries where hospital care is not readily accessible, treating pneumonia at home with antibiotics has the potential to significantly reduce the number of deaths.

The researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health studied just over two thousand children between the ages of three months and five years at seven different sites in Pakistan. Approximately half of the study participants were treated with intravenous antibiotics at a hospital; the other half of the study participants were treated at home with amoxicillin syrup.

Children who went to the hospital actually fared worse in this study; eighty-seven didn't respond to the antibiotic and four died within two weeks. Children who were treated at home had slightly better results: seventy-seven children didn't respond to the antibiotic and only one died within two weeks.

Currently, the World Health Organization recommends hospitalization as the best treatment for pneumonia. The study authors hope that this recommendation will change based on the findings -- at least for children in developing countries.

Home treatment for pneumonia may be a good option for children in developing countries who don't have access to a hospital -- whether it be for lack of transportation or cost. Home-based care could save many lives around the world. Ideally, study authors would like to see local health workers in developing countries have the ability to diagnose pneumonia and start children on an at-home care program.

In developed countries, home treatment for pneumonia may not be as effective.

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger