Study suggests some pediatric pneumonia cases may not need antibiotics

Children who are treated for pneumonia in outpatient settings might not need antibiotics at the rate they’re given them, a study out this morning in Pediatrics suggests. Researchers looked at about 300 children between 3 months and 18 years old with suspected pneumonia, some who were prescribed antibiotics after being discharged from an emergency department and some who were not. Between the groups, there was no difference in the rate who returned to the hospital or in quality of life measures. The researchers noted that it can be difficult to tell whether pneumonia is caused by a virus or bacteria, and that other research has shown that most cases of pneumonia in young children are viral.