title: Predictors of symptom resolution in patients with community-acquired pneumonia.
abstract: Previous studies have demonstrated that a substantial number of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) experienced CAP-related symptoms up to 3 months after the completion of antibiotic treatment. We evaluated the frequency of symptoms in a cohort of 535 patients with CAP who presented to a hospital emergency department and completed symptom questionnaires 2 and 6 weeks after the completion of a course of antibiotic therapy. Six weeks after cessation of antibiotic therapy, 64% of patients still reported > or = 1 CAP-related symptoms. Exploratory analyses were performed to identify potential predictors of complete symptom resolution. Logistic regression analysis identified younger age, absence of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and levofloxacin treatment as predictors of complete symptom resolution (all P < .05). Randomized controlled trials should be performed to evaluate the relative efficacy of different antibiotic therapies on the rate of resolution of symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Marrie
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Wheeler
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Feagan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D064704:Levofloxacin; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015242:Ofloxacin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D064704:Levofloxacin; D015242:Ofloxacin