title: Epidemiological survey on incidence and treatment of community acquired pneumonia in Italy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate annual incidence of community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in an Italian general population sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred and eighty-seven family practitioners (64.6% of those selected) recorded suspected or ascertained CAP cases for 1 year. Information on smoking habit, respiratory symptoms and signs, co-morbidity, antibiotic and corticosteroid therapy, hospitalization, mortality and recovery were obtained.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six hundred and ninety-nine case forms were collected (53.1% females, mean age 59.6+/-19.5, 20.6% smokers). CAP incidence rates per 1000 population were: 1.69 in men vs. 1.71 in women; 2.33 in the North vs. 1.29 in the Centre-South of Italy; between 0.73 in 14-, and 3.34 in 64+year-old subjects. Main symptoms and signs were cough (73.3%), crackles (72.8%), dullness (57.3%), asthenia (53.4%). 59.5% of subjects had concurrent diseases, mostly cardiac and respiratory. 77.2% of cases had chest X-ray (with parenchymal density in 90.6%). Phlegm microbiological examination was performed in 12.8% of cases. First choice antibiotics were cephalosporins (45.8%), macrolides (20.2%), other beta-lactams (18.6%), and fluoroquinolones (12.2%). Rates of hospitalization and of mortality were 31.8% and 6.0%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study confirmed that the annual CAP incidence rate in the general population of South Europe is about 2 per 1000 population and showed a wide choice of antibiotic treatment.
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Environmental Epidemiology Unit, CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Viegi
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pistelli
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cazzola
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Falcone
authors.forename: Isa
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cerveri
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ugo Di Maria
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents