Management of community-acquired pneumonia in infants and children: Clinical practice guidelines endorsed by the Saudi Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that pneumonia continues to be a significant cause of mortality in the pediatric age group for children under five years of age, where it accounts for nearly one-fifth of childhood deaths worldwide [1]. In this report, we provide the most up to date guidelines for the management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in infants and children aged over 90 days. The current recommendations given by the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America 2011 Practice guidelines, WHO, and other international guidelines are considered as well as regional variations in susceptibility patterns and resources [[1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]]. Some published and unpublished antibiograms from several tertiary care organizations in the regions comprising Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Oman have shown significant improvements in the susceptibility pattern of Streptococcus pneumoniae to penicillin for the last three years, so the current recommendations have been customized accordingly [2,3]. These guidelines cover the diagnosis and therapeutic options for the management of CAP in children. The definition of children-specific guidelines for the management of CAP can reduce morbidity and mortality. We present a clinical statement from the Saudi Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (SPIDS) concerning the management of CAP in children.