A double blind community-based randomized trial of amoxicillin versus placebo for fast breathing pneumonia in children aged 2-59 months in Karachi, Pakistan (RETAPP)

Background Fast breathing pneumonia is characterized by tachypnoea in the absence of danger signs and is mostly viral in etiology. Current guidelines recommend antibiotic therapy for all children with fast breathing pneumonia in resource limited settings, presuming that most pneumonia is bacterial. High quality clinical trial evidence to challenge or support the continued use of antibiotics, as recommended by the World Health Organization is lacking.