Abstract Background Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a significant problem in children. We aim to study the current response of hospitalized children with CAP to the internationally recommended first-line antibiotics. Methods Our prospective study included children aged 2 months to 16 years, of both genders, with moderate-to-severe CAP requiring hospitalization. All participants underwent the routine workup, sepsis screen, chest radiographs, blood cultures, and sputum cultures. Empiric parenteral Ceftriaxone or Cefotaxime was administered, and patients were assessed for their clinical response after 48–72 h. Non-responders required escalation to broader-spectrum antimicrobials based on clinical judgement. Patients were clinically monitored during hospital stay, and outcomes were reported. Results Forty-four hospitalized children with CAP were included; their median age was 18.5 months (range, 11.7–42 months), and the female-to-male ratio was 1.4:1. About 16% of participants presented with pulmonary complications. Approximately 41% responded to the recommended antibiotics in a timely manner. Blood cultures were positive in 11 (25%) children, with likely contamination in 6. The non-responders had significantly longer hospital stays, frequent intensive care admissions, more common fever at day 3, and more frequent pulmonary complications as compared to the responders. All studied children were discharged after improvement, with no observed mortality. Conclusion Among our hospitalized children with CAP, about 60% failed to respond to cephalosporines and required escalation to broader-spectrum agents. We observed pulmonary complications in 16% of participants, with no mortality.
Afifi et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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