OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of probiotics as adjunct therapy for patients (2 months - 4 years old ) with moderate risk community acquired pneumonia.
METHODS: the study population consisted of 77 children, 2 months - 4 years old with no Hib vaccination, no previous intake of antimicrobials, no contraindications to feed within the first 24 hours upon admission and with informed consent. Participants were randomized to given Ampicillin (100 mkd), supplemented with probiotics (1 sachet for 7 days) while the control group was given Ampicillin and a placebo. Patients with co - morbidities (i.e. cardiac problems, malnutrition etc.), and those with previous intake of antimicrobials were excluded. Both groups were compared based on the following: cardiac rate, respiratory rate, temperature, presence or absence of chest retractions and length of hospital stay. The physicians and patients were blinded as to
RESULTS: For subjects < 1 year old in the probiotics group, cardiac rates normalized at day 2. In the placebo group, fluctuating cardiac rates were noted although this difference was statistically significant. Among >1 year olds, normal cardiac rate was reached on days 4 and 5 in the probiotics group and this was not reached in the placebo group. The respiratory rate normalized in both groups starting day 1 for those < 1 year old. Respiratory rates in the probiotics group were also noted to be lower than placebo group. Among >1 year old, normal respiratory rate was reached on day 2 for both groups. The respiratory rates of the probiotics group were lower than the placebo group but this was not statistically significant. The decline between the two groups was not significantly different. Presence of chest retractions was lower in the probiotics group as compared to the placebo group by day 4. Both groups had an average length of hospital stay of 3 days.
CONCLUSION: The results of the study suggest that probiotics may possibly be helpful as an adjunctive therapy for patients, 2 months to 4 years old, with moderate risk community acquired pneumonia. **** 1st Place PIDSP Research Contest 2014

Human ; Male ; Female ; Child Preschool ; Infant ; Respiratory Rate ; Probiotics ; Length Of Stay ; Anti-infective Agents ; Temperature ; Ampicillin ; Dietary Supplements ; Pneumonia ; Malnutrition ; Vaccination

Objective: To determine the association of breastfeeding with the clinical outcomes of infants with very severe pneumonia. Methods: This retrospective study included intubated, full-term infants between one to six months of age admitted for very severe pneumonia at the critical care units of the National Children’s Hospital from 2005 to-2015. The 52 subjects per type of feeding (exclusively breastfed and non-exclusively breastfed) were selected using simple random sampling. We examined the association between the type of feeding with the length of ICU stay, ventilator days, health-care-associated infection (HAI) and mortality. Results: A total of 104 infants were included in the study. The exclusively breastfed (EBF) infants stayed for a shorter amount of time in the ICU than the non-exclusively breastfed (NEBF) infants (p-value = 0.0067). The EBF infants had shorter intubation period and mechanical ventilation use (p value=0.001), and less HAI (p-value = 0.015). There were more infants with very severe pneumonia who died from the NEBF group but no significant association (p-value = 0.076) was found between mortality and the type of feeding. Conclusion Exclusively breastfed infants who were admitted for very severe pneumonia at the critical care areas showed better outcomes in terms of shorter ICU stay and ventilator use, and lower incidence of HAI as compared to the NEBF infants. However, data showed no significant association between mortality and type of feeding.
Breast Feeding ; Pneumonia