title: Macrolides as first line therapy in adult lower respiratory tract infections: pros and cons.
abstract: Certain guidelines exist to facilitate the decision as to which patients with lower respiratory tract infections require antibiotics. The decision as to which antibiotic to use must depend on a detailed knowledge of the disease and the patient's condition. Recent recommendations recognize four categories of patients with community-acquired pneumonia and adopt somewhat different treatment strategies for each. In industrialized countries, macrolides are regarded as either first- or second-choice therapy for community-acquired pneumonias of all grades of severity.
authors.affiliation: Infections Diseases Unit, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, School of Medicine, Tel-Hashomer, 52621, Israel.
authors.forename: Ethan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rubinstein
authors.forename: Itzhak
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Levy