By Amanda Strong
MONTREAL, CANADA -- November 4, 2005 -- When faced with a suspected case of pneumonia, hospital physicians should collect a lower respiratory tract culture, initiate antibiotic therapy immediately at high doses, and stop treatment earlier, researchers recommended in a presentation here at CHEST 2005, the American College of Chest Physicians annual meeting.
In addition, treatment should be tailored to culture results, according to newly released evidence-based guidelines for the management of hospital-acquired pneumonia presented on November 3rd.
Presenter Richard G. Wunderink, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United States, said the new guidelines also include healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP), which was previously included in guidelines for community-acquired disease.
Posted by gruwell at November 7, 2005 9:17 AM | TrackBack