Community-acquired pneumonia: an unfinished battle.
Community-acquired pneumonia remains a common illness with substantial morbidity and mortality. Current management challenges focus on identifying the likely etiologic pathogens based on an assessment of host risk factors, while attempting to make a specific etiologic diagnosis, which is often not possible. Therapy is necessarily empiric and focuses on pneumococcus and atypical pathogens for all patients, with consideration of other pathogens based on specific patient risk factors. It is important to understand the expected response to effective therapy, and to identify and manage clinical failure at the earliest possible time point. Prevention is focused on smoking cessation and vaccination against pneumococcus and influenza.
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Winthrop-University Hospital, Mineola, NY, USA.
Girish B
GB
Nair
Michael S
MS
Niederman
D000465:Algorithms; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D015897:Comorbidity; D003422:Critical Care; D006801:Humans; D007877:Legionnaires' Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D008487:Medical History Taking; D010808:Physical Examination; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011379:Prognosis; D011859:Radiography; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013183:Sputum / Q000166:cytology
D015415:Biomarkers