Treatment of childhood pneumonia in developing countries

Definition of community acquired pneumonia (CAP) CAP can be defined clinically as the presence of signs and symptoms of pneumonia in a previously healthy child due to an acute infection (of less than 14 days’ duration) of the lower respiratory tract (usually occurs below terminal bronchioles) leading to cough or difficult breathing, tachypnoea, or lower chest-wall indrawing, which has been acquired in the community outside hospital (Zar et al., 2005; BTS, 2002). In developed countries this can be verified by the radiological finding of consolidation (BTS, 2002). In resource poor setting of the developing world, a more practical term acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) is preferred, reflecting the difficulties in obtaining a chest radiograph, especially in rural areas (BTS, 2002).