Open AccessCommunity-Acquired Pneumonia with Risk for Drug-Resistant Pathogens
Author(s) -
Virginia Fleming,
Brian Buck,
Nancy M Nix,
Parag Kumar,
Robin Southwood
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
southern medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.332
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1541-8243
pISSN - 0038-4348
DOI - 10.1097/smj.0b013e318287fe71
Subject(s) - medicine , community acquired pneumonia , pneumonia , empiric therapy , risk factor , guideline , intensive care medicine , pathology , alternative medicine
Pneumonia is a leading infectious cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) and American Thoracic Society (ATS) have published treatment guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) based upon the site of acquisition and specific pathogen risk. The literature demonstrates improved outcomes with guideline-concordant empiric therapy. A subset of patients with CAP has risk factors for drug-resistant pathogens (DRPs). IDSA/ATS treatment guidelines do not provide clear recommendations for empiric treatment, and clinical studies have not provided descriptive data for this group.