Program title: Ayos Lungs!

Group Number: 1

TOPIC: Assessing Cough and Difficulty of Breathing

GENERAL OBJECTIVE:

The goal of this training session is to promote the accurate identification of pneumonia in the
community setting, ensure appropriate combined treatment, and speed up the referral of severely ill
patients, especially children.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this session, the students should be able to...

1. Assess the patient for signs and symptoms of pneumonia

2. Give the appropriate treatment/management following the IMCI guidelines
3. Correctly identify general danger signs
4. Correctly assess which patients need urgent referral

INTRODUCTION

Community-acquired pneumonia is a leading cause of death but is easily preventable and treatable. To
prevent progression of severity, early diagnosis and prompt management are essential. In order to
accomplish this, this particular training session aims to educate basic health workers in dealing with
patients presenting with cough and difficulty of breathing which are the common symptoms of CAP.
During this training session, we will also tackle the other signs and symptoms of pneumonia, and how to
determine when to refer the patient to the hospital.

IMCI is an integrated approach to child health that focuses on the well-being of the whole child. IMCI
aims to reduce death, illness and disability, and to promote improved growth and development among
children under five years of age. IMCI includes both preventive and curative elements that are
implemented by families and communities as well as by health facilities.

MAIN LESSONS

A. The General Danger Signs

B. Classifying Cough or Difficult Breathing
1. Tachypnea
2. Signs of distress
3. Adventitious breath sounds
C. Appropriate Management for each Classification

CONCLUSION

Patients classified as green demonstrate no signs of pneumonia or sever disease and may be treated
symptomatically. Yellow cases likely have pneumonia and should be treated empirically. Antibiotics will
need prescription. Red cases mean severe pneumonia or very severe disease and need urgent referral to
a hospital. In the presence of any danger sign, appropriate measures should be done immediately while
awaiting referral/transfer to a hospital.

ASSESSMENT

Assessment will be done through a game show style/format.