Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 20, 2026
Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment as a Useful Adjunctive Tool for Pneumonia
Published on: May 6, 2014
Cost of management of severe pneumonia in young children: systematic analysis
Shanshan Zhang1, Peter M Sammon2, Isobel King3
1Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Department of Preventive Dentistry, Peking University, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, PR China.
Insights
Childhood pneumonia management costs vary significantly by severity and healthcare setting. This comprehensive review provides crucial data for global child health resource allocation and planning.
Area of Science:
- Global Health
- Pediatrics
- Health Economics
Background:
- Childhood pneumonia is a leading cause of child mortality worldwide.
- Understanding management costs is vital for effective child health strategies.
- Pneumonia necessitates significant resource allocation in global health initiatives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and synthesize cost data for childhood pneumonia management.
- To provide comprehensive cost estimates across different pneumonia severities and healthcare settings.
- To inform resource allocation and priority setting for child health programs.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of published and unpublished studies on childhood pneumonia management costs.
- Inclusion of data from over 95,000 children across all WHO regions.
- Extraction of costs per episode, hospital stay duration, and intervention costs.
Main Results:
- Total cost per episode for severe pneumonia ranges from US$4.3 in community settings to US$559.4 in high-income country hospitals.
- Direct medical costs for severe pneumonia in LMIC hospitals represent a substantial portion of household income (26.6%-115.8%).
- Mean hospital length of stay for severe pneumonia was 5.8 days in LMICs and 7.7 days in HICs.
Conclusions:
- This review offers the most extensive cost data on childhood pneumonia management to date.
- Findings are essential for health services planning and priority setting by national and international agencies.
- Data supports evidence-based decision-making for child health interventions and resource allocation.
Background:
Childhood pneumonia is a major cause of childhood illness and the second leading cause of child death globally. Understanding the costs associated with the management of childhood pneumonia is essential for resource allocation and priority setting for child health.
Methods:
We conducted a systematic review to identify studies reporting data on the cost of management of pneumonia in children younger than 5 years old. We collected unpublished cost data on non-severe, severe and very severe pneumonia through collaboration with an international working group. We extracted data on cost per episode, duration of hospital stay and unit cost of interventions for the management of pneumonia. The mean (95% confidence interval, CI) and median (interquartile range, IQR) treatment costs were estimated and reported where appropriate.
Results:
We identified 24 published studies eligible for inclusion and supplemented these with data from 10 unpublished studies. The 34 studies included in the cost analysis contained data on more than 95 000 children with pneumonia from both low- and-middle income countries (LMIC) and high-income countries (HIC) covering all 6 WHO regions. The total cost (per episode) for management of severe pneumonia was US$ 4.3 (95% CI 1.5-8.7), US$ 51.7 (95% CI 17.4-91.0) and US$ 242.7 (95% CI 153.6-341.4)-559.4 (95% CI 268.9-886.3) in community, out-patient facilities and different levels of hospital in-patient settings in LMIC. Direct medical cost for severe pneumonia in hospital inpatient settings was estimated to be 26.6%-115.8% of patients' monthly household income in LMIC. The mean direct non-medical cost and indirect cost for severe pneumonia management accounted for 0.5-31% of weekly household income. The mean length of stay (LOS) in hospital for children with severe pneumonia was 5.8 (IQR 5.3-6.4) and 7.7 (IQR 5.5-9.9) days in LMIC and HIC respectively for these children.
Conclusion:
This is the most comprehensive review to date of cost data from studies on the management of childhood pneumonia and these data should be helpful for health services planning and priority setting by national programmes and international agencies.
More Related Videos
06:15Protocol and Guidelines for Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound in Diagnosing Neonatal Pulmonary Diseases Based on International Expert Consensus
Published on: March 6, 2019
05:50International Expert Consensus and Recommendations for Neonatal Pneumothorax Ultrasound Diagnosis and Ultrasound-guided Thoracentesis Procedure
Published on: March 12, 2020
Related Concept Videos
01:30Pneumonia I: Introduction
Risk Factors
Various factors influence the likelihood of developing pneumonia. Age plays a crucial role, with infants, children under two, and individuals over 65 at increased risk due to their...
01:29Pneumonia II: Pathophysiology
01:30Pneumonia III: Complications and Assessment
01:28Pneumonia IV: Management
Bacterial Pneumonia Treatment
For bacterial pneumonia, antibiotics serve as the cornerstone of therapy. Initial treatment often begins with empirical antibiotics, tailored to the anticipated causative organism and adjusted based on culture results. Key antibiotic choices include:
01:30Pneumonia V: Nursing management and Prevention
The nurse must practice strict medical asepsis and adhere to infection control guidelines to minimize healthcare-associated infections.
Enhance airway patency
Position the patient correctly to facilitate drainage of the affected lung segments. Manual or mechanical percussion and vibration can also be employed.
01:29Pneumonia I: Introduction