RESULTS 1702 children were randomized to receive either oral amoxicillin (857) or parenteral penicillin (845) for 48 hours. Treatment failure was 19% in each group (risk difference –0.4; 95% CI –4.2 to 3.3) at 48 hours, 22% (cumulative) in each group at 5 days, and 25% in each group at 14 days. Relapse at day 5 and 14 occurred in 45/1375 (3.4%) and 65/1330 (4.8%) of the children, respectively. Infancy (OR 2.72, 95% CI 1.95—3.79), very fast breathing (1.94, 1.42—2.65) and hypoxia (1.95, 1.34—2.82) at baseline predicted treatment failure by multivariate analysis.