title: Brazilian guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia in immunocompetent adults - 2009.
abstract: Community-acquired pneumonia continues to be the acute infectious disease that has the greatest medical and social impact regarding morbidity and treatment costs. Children and the elderly are more susceptible to severe complications, thereby justifying the fact that the prevention measures adopted have focused on these age brackets. Despite the advances in the knowledge of etiology and physiopathology, as well as the improvement in preliminary clinical and therapeutic methods, various questions merit further investigation. This is due to the clinical, social, demographical and structural diversity, which cannot be fully predicted. Consequently, guidelines are published in order to compile the most recent knowledge in a systematic way and to promote the rational use of that knowledge in medical practice. Therefore, guidelines are not a rigid set of rules that must be followed, but first and foremost a tool to be used in a critical way, bearing in mind the variability of biological and human responses within their individual and social contexts. This document represents the conclusion of a detailed discussion among the members of the Scientific Board and Respiratory Infection Committee of the Brazilian Thoracic Association. The objective of the work group was to present relevant topics in order to update the previous guidelines. We attempted to avoid the repetition of consensual concepts. The principal objective of creating this document was to present a compilation of the recent advances published in the literature and, consequently, to contribute to improving the quality of the medical care provided to immunocompetent adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG, Federal University of Minas Gerais - School of Medicine, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ricardo de Amorim
authors.initials: Rde A
authors.lastname: Corrêa
authors.forename: Fernando Luiz Cavalcanti
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Lundgren
authors.forename: Jorge Luiz
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pereira-Silva
authors.forename: Rodney Luiz
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Frare e Silva
authors.forename: Alexandre Pinto
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: Antônio Carlos Moreira
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Lemos
authors.forename: Flávia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: Liany
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Manuela Araújo de Nóbrega
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cavalcanti
authors.forename: Mara Rúbia Fernandes
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: de Figueiredo
authors.forename: Marcelo Alcântara
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Holanda
authors.forename: Maria Inês Bueno de André
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Valery
authors.forename: Miguel Abidon
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Aidê
authors.forename: Moema Nudilemon
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Chatkin
authors.forename: Octávio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Messeder
authors.forename: Paulo José Zimermann
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.forename: Ricardo Luiz de Melo
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Rosali Teixeira
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: da Rocha
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007121:Immunocompetence; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D012720:Severity of Illness Index