An instrument to assess acute respiratory infection case management in Egypt.

Unlabelled: To develop an instrument to measure the quality of acute respiratory infection (ARI) case management among Egyptian children.

Methods: A baseline survey of all health facilities in a single district, using a multi-data source instrument. Data sources included providers, caretakers, patient records and observation of patient care.

Main results: Physicians did not count the respiratory rate and check for subcostal retraction. Eighty-seven per cent of children who did not require antibiotics received them. Of five children who required antibiotics, four (80%) were prescribed an oral regimen. Three of these should have been admitted to a hospital but were not. Antibiotics were available at the facilities an estimated 7.9 months per year. Oxygen for inpatient treatment was available in one of two hospitals.

Conclusions: This instrument was useful for comprehensively evaluating facility capability to provide quality case management. Deficiencies were identified but were not unexpected in a baseline survey. The Egypt ARI program has the potential to have a substantial impact on how children with ARI are diagnosed and treated in health facilities.