Most Children Who Do Not Receive Antibiotics For Pneumonia Do Not Experience Treatment Failure Or Severe Outcomes, Study Suggests

Healio (11/8, Kellner) reported, “Most children who did not receive antibiotics for pneumonia did not experience treatment failure or severe outcomes, according to study findings.” The researchers said, “The risks of treatment failure in those who did not vs. did receive antibiotics were reduced after excluding children with asthma or bronchiolitis (9.9% vs. 9%) and after lengthening the exposure window (7.3% vs. 7.1%), which suggests that some of the differences in outcomes may be explained by comorbid lower respiratory tract illnesses, the specific definition of the exposure window or misclassification of the diagnosis of pneumonia.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.