Ambulatory oral amoxicillin for severe pneumonia in children.

摘要

We honourTabish Hazirandcoliegues1 for their continuing efforts in the field of childhood pneumonia. Certainly timely oral amoxicillin will save lives. But we have afeelingthatthe outcome of this study is possibly too optimistic, and the conclusions overzealous.The WHO definition and grading of childhood pneumonia, the only workable option in many parts of the world, is different from that of other guidelines such as the British Thoracic Society (BTS).3The BTS considers fever and chest radiography very important as diagnostic standards (except in infants). WHO criteria do not do well if one takes radiography as standard: in a study of WHO-defined pneumonia,4 radiography was abnormal only in 25-30%