Guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia in the ICU

Community-acquired pneumonia remains a common and serious condition worldwide. Severe community-acquired pneumonia requiring ICU admission is a distinct entity with different pathogens, outcomes, and management. The mortality rate in severe community-acquired pneumonia can be more than 50%. Over the past decade, some international guidelines for the management of community-acquired pneumonia have been developed in an attempt to optimize patient care. These guidelines have developed prediction tools to direct clinicians in the management of community-acquired pneumonia, including when to admit a patient to the ICU and selecting appropriate investigations and antimicrobial therapy. The individual recommendations of these guidelines and the guidelines as a whole require further studies.