Objective: A randomized controlled trial compared day care versus hospital care management of pneumonia.
Methods: Children 2 to 59 months of age with severe pneumonia received either day care, with antibiotic treatment, feeding, and supportive care from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, or hospital care, with similar 24-hour treatment.
Results: In 2006-2008, 360 children were assigned randomly to receive either day care or hospital care; 189 (53%) had hypoxemia, with a mean±SD oxygen saturation of 93±4%, which increased to 99±1% after oxygen therapy. The mean±SD durations of day care and hospital care were 7.1±2.3 and 6.5±2.8 days, respectively. Successful management was possible for 156 (87.7% [95% confidence interval [CI]: 80.9%-90.9%]) of 180 children in the day care group and 173 (96.1% [95% CI: 92.2%-98.1%]) of 180 children in the hospital care group (P=.001). Twenty-three children in the day care group (12.8% [95% CI: 8.7%-18.4%] and 4 children in the hospital care group (2.2% [95% CI: 0.9%-5.6%] required referral to hospitals (P<.001). During the follow-up period, 22 children in the day care group (14.1% [95% CI: 9.5%-20.4%]) and 11 children in the hospital care group (6.4% [95% CI: 3.6%-11%]) required readmission to hospitals (P=.01). The estimated costs per child treated successfully at the clinic and the hospital were US$114 and US$178, respectively.
Conclusion: Severe childhood pneumonia without severe malnutrition can be successfully managed at day care clinics, except for children with hypoxemia who require prolonged oxygen therapy.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00455468.