Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in Pakistan. The National ARI Control Programme was launched in 1989 in order to reduce the mortality attributed to pneumonia, and rationalize the use of drugs in the management of patients with ARI. WHO's standard ARI case management guidelines were adopted to achieve these objectives. The medical staff at the Children's Hospital, Islamabad, were trained in such management in early 1990; further training sessions were conducted when new staff arrived. Data on outpatients were obtained from special ARI abstract registers, which have been maintained in the outpatient department since January 1990. Details on inpatients who were admitted with ARI were obtained from hospital registers. During the period 1989-92, the use of antibiotics in the outpatient department decreased from 54.6

作者：S A, Qazi；G N, Rehman；M A, Khan

来源：Bulletin of the World Health Organization 1996 年 74卷 5期