16.2.6
Pneumonia in Children
Malawi Standard Treatment Guidelines, 6th Edition, 2023. Chapter 16, Respiratory Conditions.
Clinical Description
WHO Classification of pneumonia
No Pneumonia: cough and cold
Pneumonia: fast breathing and/or chest indrawing
Severe Pneumonia: Pneumonia plus General danger sign (not able to drink, persistent vomiting, convulsions, lethargic or unconscious, stridor in a calm child or severe malnutrition)
Signs and Symptoms
- Cough
- Fever
- Tachypnoea
- Signs of respiratory distress
- Bronchial breathing, crackles
Treatment
- No pneumonia: home care advice
- Pneumonia: Oral amoxicillin 15mg/kg 8 hourly for 5 days
HOME CARE ADVICE
Severe Pneumonia:
- Assess and manage ABCCCD
- Give Oxygen
- Consider CPAP if severe respiratory distress
- Benzyl Penicillin 50,000 IU IV 6 hourly and
- Gentamicin 7.5mg IV 24 hourly
- Change to oral antibiotics once tolerating orally
- Antipyretics
Complications
- Pleural effusion and Empyema
- Investigate for TB
- Continue IV antibiotics and insert chest drain
- Refer patients with complicated empyema
- Lung abscess
- Refer for surgical drainage
- Septicaemia
Refer all patients with complications
Check doses against the printed guideline and your clinical judgement before treating a patient. Spotted an error? Report it from the contact links below.
Need this without data?
The app holds every guideline on your device, with calculators, bookmarks and notes.