‘Day-care management effective for severe childhood pneumonia’

Icddr,b in collaboration with the University of Basel, Switzerland, the University of Kentucky, USA has organised a dissemination seminar at its Sasakawa auditorium in Mohakhal of the capital yesterday. The seminar highlighted findings of an innovative treatment method of severe childhood pneumonia through a day-care management approach within the health system of Bangladesh, says a press release. The scientists also reported that the model is equally effective, safe and much less expensive compared to the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended standard management of severe childhood pneumonia, which involves hospitalisation of children for supportive treatment including oxygen therapy, fluid and nutritional management, and antibiotics.

The day-care pneumonia management has great potential for scale-up within the existing health system of Bangladesh and other developing countries. Globally, 120 million episodes of pneumonia per year affect children under 5 years of age, over 10 per cent of which (14 million) progress to severe episodes and require hospitalisation.

In developing countries, acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) particularly pneumonia is the leading cause of death among children under 5 years of age accounting for one in every five of the 5 million deaths per year.

In Bangladesh, more than one child died due to pneumonia every hour in 2018, which accounts more than 12,000 children in that year alone. Additionally, childhood malnutrition remains a significant health problem and a major contributing factor to poor outcomes of childhood pneumonia treatment.

While hospitalisation is the recommended care for severe pneumonia, most low- and middle-income countries often do not have enough paediatric beds and hospitals to meet the demand of all children with severe pneumonia or malnutrition. Additionally, mothers of ill children have other childcare and household responsibilities that prevent their ability to attend the child during hospitalization, which is often mandatory for the entire hospital stay.

Further, transportation cost for long-distance travel to the hospital, lack of adequate childcare at home, among others represent significant additional limitations to hospitalization. Globally, alternative treatment modalities such as "day-care model" are therefore being sought for children who cannot be hospitalised but are too sick to be managed at home.

 

Day-care management effective for severe childhood pneumonia

Icddr,b in collaboration with the University of Basel, Switzerland, the University of Kentucky, USA has organised a dissemination seminar at its Sasakawa auditorium in Mohakhal of the capital yesterday. The seminar highlighted findings of an innovative treatment method of severe childhood pneumonia through a day-care management approach within the health system of Bangladesh, says a press release. The scientists also reported that the model is equally effective, safe and much less expensive compared to the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended standard management of severe childhood pneumonia, which involves hospitalisation of children for supportive treatment including oxygen therapy, fluid and nutritional management, and antibiotics. The day-care pneumonia management has great potential for scale-up within the existing health system of Bangladesh and other developing countries. Globally, 120 million episodes of pneumonia per year affect children under 5 years of age, over 10 per cent of which (14 million) progress to severe episodes and require hospitalisation. In developing countries, acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) particularly pneumonia is the leading cause of death among children under 5 years of age accounting for one in every five of the 5 million deaths per year. In Bangladesh, more than one child died due to pneumonia every hour in 2018, which accounts more than 12,000 children in that year alone. Additionally, childhood malnutrition remains a significant health problem and a major contributing factor to poor outcomes of childhood pneumonia treatment. While hospitalisation is the recommended care for severe pneumonia, most low- and middle-income countries often do not have enough paediatric beds and hospitals to meet the demand of all children with severe pneumonia or malnutrition. Additionally, mothers of ill children have other childcare and household responsibilities that prevent their ability to attend the child during hospitalization, which is often mandatory for the entire hospital stay. Further, transportation cost for long-distance travel to the hospital, lack of adequate childcare at home, among others represent significant additional limitations to hospitalization. Globally, alternative treatment modalities such as day-care model are therefore being sought for children who cannot be hospitalised but are too sick to be managed at home.