Treating childhood pneumonia empirically several issues still remain.

INDIAN PEDIATRICS 538 VOLUME 45__JULY 17, 2008 Pneumonia is now widely regarded as the dominant cause of child mortality in the developing world with over 150 million cases and almost 2.4 million deaths annually(1). Although there are remarkable advances in preventive strategies including nutrition interventions such as promotion of exclusive breastfeeding, environmental control such as reduction of indoor air pollution and newer effective vaccines(2), antibiotic therapy remains the mainstay of management and treatment strategies(3).