The Newer Guidelines for the Management of Community-acquired Pneumonia

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of death in the world and the sixth most common cause of death in the United States. It is the number one cause of death from infectious diseases in the United States. This article reviews the latest available guidelines from two leading organizations-the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Thoracic Society (ATS). The IDSA stratifies patients into three categories and recommends antibiotic management based on assigned categories: outpatients, patients admitted to a general medical floor (GMF), and patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. The ATS, in contrast, stratifies patients into four major groups based on the presence of two cardiopulmonary diseases, certain modifying risk factors that increase the likelihood of acquiring specific infections (such as with drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, enteric gram-negative organisms, or Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and also based on the site of treatment (such as outpatient setting, GMF, and ICU).