Short-course antibiotics can be just as effective for community-acquired pneumonia in children

Oral antibiotics are one of the first-line treatments for bacterial community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children. There is emerging evidence that a shorter, 3–5 day course of antibiotics is just as effective in terms of cure rates as currently recommended courses (e.g. 5–10 days). However, limitations include uncertainties around the diagnosis of bacterial CAP and thus whether antibiotics are necessary for infection resolution, and that data mainly assessed children with non-severe CAP managed in outpatient settings. Thus, further research may be needed for guidelines to be updated to routinely recommend shorter antibiotic courses for bacterial CAP in children.