COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED BACTERIAL PNEUMONIA: A LITERATURE REVIEW FOCUSING ON DIAGNOSIS

Abstract

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is considered the leading cause of mortality and morbidity with important clinical impact worldwide. Initial treatment in primary care depends on clinical assessment, while hospitalized patients require combinations of clinical scores, chest x-ray and various microbiological and biomarker assays. This comprehensive diagnostic approach, along with additional sampling and molecular testing in selected high-risk patients, should be practiced. Inadequate CAP therapy in hospitalized patients prolongs hospital stay and increases cost and mortality. Furthermore, the emergence of multidrug-resistant organisms poses difficult challenges in deciding on empirical and definitive therapy.