Shorter course of antibiotics for pneumonia in children ‘as effective’ as 5-day course

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By Sarah Lowden

Babies and children between 3 months and 11 years with non-severe community-acquired pneumonia should be prescribed a 3-day rather than 5-day course of antibiotics, according to new draft guidelines.

The proposed updated clinical guideline from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence applies to patients without complications or underlying disease who have pneumonia which is not assessed as severe and was contracted outside of a healthcare setting.