Treating pneumonia in children

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition involving the lungs. Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is defined as pneumonia acquired by a healthy child outside the hospital usually presenting with a cough and fever.^1,2 It has an annual incidence of up to 40 per 1000 children aged ≤ five years in Europe and the USA.^1,2

Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are one of the common reasons why a health professional is consulted for a child and accounts for about 4 per cent ofdeaths annually in children aged 0 - 14 years in England and Wales.¹

Although for the purpose of clinical description the airways are described as upper or lower airways, in clinical practice, a child can present with a combination of symptoms of stridor (inspiratory noise due to upper airway pathology) and cough and wheeze (suggestive of lower airway pathology).³