ARI control programme: results in hospitalized children.

One hundred cases of pneumonia with chest indrawing were treated according to the treatment protocol of the ARI control programme. The majority of children were > 2 months old (85 per cent) with male predominance (61 per cent). All cases with severe pneumonia survived. A mortality rate of 7.7 per cent was seen in cases of very severe pneumonia. Three children in the severe pneumonia group deteriorated on benzyl penicillin to very severe pneumonia but subsequently improved on chloramphenicol. Six patients were treated as cases of Staphylococcal pneumonia and one of them died. Thirteen children (21.3 per cent) in the severe pneumonia group required oxygen for breathing rates > 70 per minute. Seventy-four per cent in the very severe pneumonia group required administration of IV fluids. Blood counts did not prove to be of help in differentiating the children at risk of dying. There was no significant difference in roentgenographic findings in the two groups. Congestive cardiac failure was the most common complication, seen in 33.3 per cent of cases of the very severe pneumonia group. The duration of stay was significantly less in cases of severe pneumonia (4.21 +/- 1.59 days) as compared to very severe pneumonia (9.35 +/- 2.39 days). The data from this study suggest that the treatment protocol for the ARI control programme for hospitalized children is reasonably effective and can be implemented in small hospitals.