Shorter treatment is better for young children with outpatient pneumonia

Five days of antibiotics is superior to 10 days for children with community-acquired pneumonia who are not hospitalized, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics. 

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common and serious infection that leads to 1.5 million doctor visits in the U.S. each year. Doctors typically treat CAP with a 10-day course of antibiotics, but the standard treatment could have negative effects from the antibiotics themselves or harm caused by unnecessary antibiotic use.  

The trial, led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was run in collaboration with the NIAID-funded Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group, and patients were enrolled at eight U.S. medical centers, all part of NIAID’s Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units. It sought to determine if a shorter antibiotic treatment strategy would work better than the typical 10-day strategy to treat children under age 6 with CAP.