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Community‐Acquired Pneumonia
Author(s) -
Maxwell David J,
Easton Kylie L
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy practice and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 2055-2335
pISSN - 1445-937X
DOI - 10.1002/jppr2004343212
Subject(s) - medicine , community acquired pneumonia , pneumonia , intensive care medicine , medline , antibiotics , pneumonia severity index , antibiotic resistance , microbiology and biotechnology , political science , law , biology
Background: The National Prescribing Service is funding a project to improve patient outcomes through implementation of national guidelines for management of community‐acquired pneumonia (CAP). There is evidence that knowledge of and adherence to the CAP guidelines in the Therapeutic Guidelines: Antibiotic in Australian hospitals is suboptimal. These guidelines incorporate a pneumonia severity index (PSI) and all antibiotic recommendations are based on the PSI score. Aim: To provide a literature‐based overview of the current evidence and opinion regarding the management of CAP and the recommendations of the Therapeutic Guidelines: Antibiotic . Method: The literature review was conducted using Medline (1966‐present) and Embase (1980‐present) databases. Results: A range of CAP severity assessment tools, including the PSI, were identified. There were also a number of international CAP guidelines with different recommendations for treatment. Conclusion: Evidence and opinion supports the guidelines in the Therapeutic Guidelines: Antibiotic relating to the severity assessment tool and antibiotic choice. Judicious use of antibiotics for CAP is required to reduce bacterial resistance in hospitals and the community.