Antibiotics for preventing pneumonia in children with measles

Background Measles causes more than a million deaths a year, of which most are children under five years of age who die from pneumonia. The objective of this review was to assess the effects of antibiotics given to children with measles on reducing pneumonia or mortality, and to assess whether antibiotics should be given to all children with measles in communities with a high fatality rate. After an analysis of six trials which included 1304 children, the reviewers concluded that the evidence for giving antibiotics to all children with measles was very weak. Available evidence suggests that antibiotics should be given only if a child has clinical signs of pneumonia or other evidence of sepsis.