PERSPECTIVE

Childhood pneumonia

Dealing with childhood pneumonia in developing countries: how can we make a difference?

Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Z A Bhutta
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan; zulfiqar.bhutta@aku.edu

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Perspective on the paper by Hazir et al (see 291)

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The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The past few years have seen renewed attention focused on the persistent burden of childhood mortality globally. Of the 10.6 million deaths of children under 5 every year, the vast majority occur in a mere 42 countries of the developing world. It is also apparent that despite advances in understanding the pathophysiology and significance of the major causes of child death, most of the known killers such as diarrhoeal disorders and acute respiratory infections (ARI) still continue to take a heavy toll.¹

Most of the deaths from ARI are due to pneumonia. The annual incidence of pneumonia is estimated at 151 million new cases per year, of which 11–20 million (7–13%) cases are severe enough to require hospitalisation.² Serious neonatal infections account for 30–50% of neonatal mortality in different regions and it is difficult to disentangle sepsis and deaths from pneumonia. With the inclusion of neonatal pneumonia, recent . . . [Full text of this article]

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Arch. Dis. Child. 2007 92: e4. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Comparison of standard versus double dose of amoxicillin in the treatment of non-severe pneumonia in children aged 2–59 months: a multi-centre, double blind, randomised controlled trial in Pakistan

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Bhutta, Z. A (2008). A major burden on children. BMJ 336: 948-949 [Full Text]  
• Bhutta, Z. A (2008). Managing severe pneumonia in children in developing countries. BMJ 336: 57-58 [Full Text]  

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