Acute Respiratory Infection: Boston University’s Collaborative Research Work in the Last Decade.

In the last decade, Boston University, in collaboration with the Child and Adolescent Health Division of the World Health Organization (WHO), has conducted a number of multi-center clinical trials aimed at reducing the childhood mortality associated with acute respiratory infections (ARI). These studies have addressed questions of program relevance and challenges faced by implementing WHO case management guidelines. The spectrum of research studies has extended from endorsing WHO guidelines for using antibiotics in all children with fast breathing to evaluation of ARI guidelines for management of severe pneumonia. Research priorities have included assessing the capacity of community health workers to provide appropriate early treatment to children with pneumonia and to manage both pneumonia and malaria in countries with a dual burden of these childhood illnesses. These contributions are likely to have a long lasting impact on reducing the mortality and morbidity associated with childhood pneumonia.