Community-acquired pneumonia: is it time to shorten the antibiotic treatment?

Abstract

Evaluation of: Li JZ, Winston LG, Moore DH, Bent S. Efficacy of short-course antibiotic regimens for community-acquired pneumonia: a meta-analysis. Am. J. Med. 120, 783–790 (2007).

Guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) treatment have been published since 1993. Currently, the guidelines developed under the auspices of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Thoracic Society are used. Empirical antibiotic recommendations reported in the current guidelines have not changed significantly from those reported previously concerning the choice of antibiotics, whereas the treatment duration is generic. Actually, in clinical practice, it seems that patients with mild-to-moderate CAP are overtreated for 7–10 days. The concern regarding adverse drug interactions, drug costs and, especially, increasing antimicrobial resistance have led to attempts to shorten the duration of therapy for CAP.

Keywords::

• community-acquired pneumonia
• guidelines
• short-course antimicrobial therapy

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.