The lower dose of antibiotic was also as effective as the higher dose, and coughs lasted only slightly longer in the shorter treatment group. Published in JAMA, CAP-IT researchers found that children who received 3 days’ treatment were no more likely to need additional antibiotics during the first month than those who received 7 days’ treatment. Half of each group received the higher dose (70–90 mg/kg), while the other half received 35–50 mg/kg.

The children, aged between 6 months and 5 years, received either 3 or 7 days of twice-daily antibiotic after leaving hospital. “This study wouldn’t have been possible without the NIHR Clinical Research Network’s regional teams working in collaboration with the PERUKI* and GAPRUKI** networks,” explained CAP-IT researcher Dr Damian Roland, Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at University Hospital of Leicester NHS Trust. Collaborative research to improve children’s careĬo-led by Michael Sharland, Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases at St George’s University London, CAP-IT recruited 814 children who had been admitted to hospital with community-acquired pneumonia across the UK and Ireland. In addition to improving children’s care, finding the minimum amount of antibiotic needed to safely treat pneumonia could cut the NHS’s £8 million treatment costs and help tackle the rising problem of global antibiotic resistance. With NIHR funding of £2 million, the Community-Acquired Pneumonia: randomIsed controlled Trial (CAP-IT) looked at whether lower doses and fewer days of treatment with amoxicillin are as good at treating pneumonia as higher doses and a longer period of treatment. However, until recently, there was little evidence to guide the most appropriate length or dose of treatment.

Under UK and international guidelines, children with bacterial community-acquired pneumonia (developed outside of hospital) are usually given three daily doses of the antibiotic amoxicillin over 5 to 7 days. Around 700 children under the age of 5 develop pneumonia and 40 lives are lost each year in the UK. Pneumonia is a serious but common lung infection among young children.

Daily dose 1 million subs