Community-acquired pneumonia: what is relevant and what is not?

Community-acquired pneumonia is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and is the most common cause of death from infectious diseases in North America. The purpose of this review is to highlight recent advances in epidemiology, risk factors, severity criteria and antibiotic therapeutic regimens used for community-acquired pneumonia management.

All guidelines recommend early and appropriate empiric therapy directed against common typical organisms, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, and other atypical organisms, but clinicians should be aware of newer emerging pathogens such as community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative pathogens.

The optimum outcome in community-acquired pneumonia can be achieved by careful risk stratification using prediction rules together with appropriate antibiotic regimens. The mainstay of community-acquired pneumonia prevention is influenza and pneumococcal immunization. Promotion of smoking cessation will also help curtail the incidence of pneumococcal disease.