The Role of Melatonin as an Adjuvant Therapy in Childhood Pneumonia

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to evaluate the effect of adding melatonin to standard treatment for children aged 1 month to 12 years diagnosed with pneumonia or severe pneumonia. The goal is to see if combining oral melatonin with antibiotics can reduce the length of hospital stay compared to standard care alone. The study is a randomized controlled trial conducted to compare these two approaches in a hospital setting. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. The control group will receive standard antibiotic treatment, such as ampicillin at 150 mg/kg/day divided every 8 hours. The intervention group will receive the same antibiotic treatment plus melatonin—dosed at 1 mg per dose for infants and 2.5 to 3 mg per dose for children—taken three times daily for 14 days. Medication adherence is monitored, and patients who take less than 90% of the medication will be excluded. During the study, children will be closely monitored from admission until discharge, with hospital stay length being the main outcome measured. Discharge depends on improvement in vital signs, oxygen saturation of at least 90% on room air, ability to maintain nutrition orally, and overall clinical improvement. Data collected will include vital signs, breathing rates, laboratory tests, and symptom assessments. The follow-up period lasts 2 weeks after treatment. Statistical analysis will compare hospital stay lengths between groups to assess the impact of melatonin as an adjunct therapy.

The Role of Melatonin as an Adjuvant Therapy in Childhood Pneumonia