‘Global pneumonia guidelines need revision’

Study by AKU researchers highlights risk of unnecessary antibiotic use

A new study by researchers at Aga Khan University has highlighted the need to improve ways to diagnose and treat pneumonia.

While global guidelines recommend the use of antibiotics, two leading infectious diseases societies in North America - the Paediatric Infectious Diseases Society and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene - advise against the use of antibiotics in young children with mild pneumonia.

The Pakistan-based trial followed over 4,000 children and found that antibiotics needed to be given to 44 children diagnosed with mild pneumonia in order to prevent a single child from deteriorating. This raises the risk of antibiotic resistance among children not suffering from pneumonia.

Researchers noted that fast breathing, one of the primary symptoms to diagnose mild pneumonia, can be seen with other illnesses. This often leads to misdiagnosis of the illness, leading to antibiotics being used in too many cases.

“Resistance to commonly used antibiotics is a growing concern among infectious disease specialists,” says Dr Fyezah Jehan, the study’s lead investigator. “Our findings lend weight to global efforts to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics by highlighting that we are yet to understand the symptoms of pneumonia.”

Researchers also stressed the need to reconsider prevailing thresholds of breaths per minute required for a pneumonia diagnosis.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2020.