Community-acquired pneumonia - Diagnostic and therapeutic approach

Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) is caused by single pathogens, not multiple pathogens, and empiric therapy of CAP, excluding aspiration pneumonia, rests on covering the typical and atypical pathogens known to cause it. Comorbid conditions for the monotherapy of CAP affect prognosis and length of stay, but do not affect empiric antibiotic selection. Severity of CAP depends on host factors, e.g., cardiopulmonary status and degree of splenic dysfunction, not organism virulence. Monotherapy is preferable to combination therapy in terms of fewer side effects, lower potential for drug interactions, and lower cost. Doxycycline or respiratory quinolones, e.g., levofloxacin, are ideal agents for the monotherapy of CAP. After initial intravenous antibiotic therapy, patients able to take oral medication should be switched to oral antibiotics to complete the course of therapy for CAP.