| Community Acquired Pneumonia | ||||||||||
| Signs and Symptoms | ||||||||||
| Cough (+/- sputum production), dyspnea, fever (+/- rigors), increased respiratory rate, altered breath sounds, altered chest X-ray, imparied oxygenation, incrased WBC count with left shift, chest pain | ||||||||||
| Diagnosis | ||||||||||
| Subjective signs and symptoms and blood/sputum cultures | ||||||||||
| Epidemiological Conditions Related to Specific Pathogens | ||||||||||
| Condition | Likely Pathogen(s) | |||||||||
| Alcoholism | Steptococcus pneumoniae, anaerobes | |||||||||
| COPD and/or smoker | S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Legionella species | |||||||||
| Nursing home residency | S. pneumoniae, gram-negative bacilli, H. influenzae, Staph. aureus, anaerobes, Chlamydia pneumoniae | |||||||||
| Poor dental hygiene | Anaerobes | |||||||||
| Exposure to bats or bird droppings | Histoplasma capsulatum | |||||||||
| Esposure to birds | Chlamydia psittaci | |||||||||
| Exposure to rabbits | Francisella tularensis | |||||||||
| Early stage HIV infection | S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis | |||||||||
| Late stage HIV infection | S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, P. carinii, Cryptococcus, Histoplasma | |||||||||
| Structural disease of lung | Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia, S. aureus | |||||||||
| Intravenous drug abuse | S. aureus, Anaerobes, M. tuberculosis, S. pneumoniae | |||||||||
| Airway obstruction | Anaerobes, S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, S. aureus | |||||||||
| Empiric Therapy | ||||||||||
| Outpatient therapy (young, otherwise healthy adult patients (< 60 years old)) | ||||||||||
| 1. Doxycycline 100mg bid for 7-14 days | ||||||||||
| 2. Clarithromycin or Azithromycin for 7-14 days | ||||||||||
| 3. Select Fluoroquinolones (ex. Cipro or Levaquin) | ||||||||||
| Moderately ill patients | ||||||||||
| 1. Parenteral beta-lactam agent (ex. Ceftriaxone or cefotaxime) plus macrolide (ex. Azithromycin) | ||||||||||
| 2. Beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor (ex. Zosyn) plus macrolide (ex. Azithromycin) | ||||||||||
| 3. Fluoroquinolone monotherapy (ex. Cipro or Levaquin) | ||||||||||
| Severely ill (ICU patient) | ||||||||||
| 1. Parenteral macrolide (ex. Azithromycin) or fluoroquinolone (ex. Levaquin) plus ceftriaxone, cefotaxime - preferred | ||||||||||
| 2. Beta lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor (ex. Zosyn) | ||||||||||
| Structural lung disease | ||||||||||
| Antipseudomonal agent (ex. Imipenem, Gentamicin) plus fluoroquinolone | ||||||||||
| Suspected aspiration | ||||||||||
| Augmentin, clindamycin, ceftazidime, amikacin, or vancomycin | ||||||||||
| Treatment Guidelines Based on Cultures | ||||||||||
| Streptococcus pneumonia (penicillin susceptible) | ||||||||||
| Preferred therapy: Penicillin-V (oral) or Penicillin-G (parenteral), amoxicillin, or ampicillin | ||||||||||
| Secondary therapies (penicillin allergy, etc.): Erythromycin, clarithromycin, azithromycin, tetracycline, doxycycline, gatifloxacin, moxefloxacin, clindamycin, levofloxacin, ceftriaxone, cefuroxime | ||||||||||
| Streptococcus pneumonia (intermediate penicillin resistant strains) | ||||||||||
| Preferred therapy: Penicillin-G, ampicillin, amoxicillin, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, second generation fluoroquinolone (levofloxacin) | ||||||||||
| Alternative therapy: Clindamycin or doxycycline | ||||||||||
| Steptococcus pneumonia (high penicillin resistant strains) | ||||||||||
| Preferred therapy: Vancomycin (as per renal function), gram-positive fluoroquinolones (ex. Levofloxacin) | ||||||||||
| Alternative therapy: Linezolid or Synercid | ||||||||||
| Haemophilus influenzae (beta-lactamase negative) | ||||||||||
| Preferred therapy: Ampicillin or amoxicillin | ||||||||||
| Alternative therapy: Cephalosporins, doxycycline, fluoroquinolones | ||||||||||
| Haemophilus influenzae (beta-lactamase positive) | ||||||||||
| Preferred therapy: Mixed or gram negative cephalosporins (ex. Cefotaxime or ceftriaxone), beta-lactamase inhibitor agents (ex. Zosyn), fluoroquinolones, doxycycline | ||||||||||
| Alternative therapy: Co-trimoxazole, azithromycin, clarithromycin | ||||||||||
| Mycoplasma pneumoniae | ||||||||||
| Atypical agent with persistant symptoms - may require up to 21 days of therapy | ||||||||||
| Use macrolides, doxycycline, or fluoroquinolones | ||||||||||
| Legionella pneumophilia | ||||||||||
| Water borne pathogen - high fever and GI symptoms are common | ||||||||||
| Erythromycin 1g IV q6h +/- rifampin 600mg daily for 21 days | ||||||||||
| Monitoring | ||||||||||
| 1. Reduction in temperature | ||||||||||
| 2. Reduction in white blood cell count | ||||||||||
| 3. Resolution in left shift | ||||||||||
| 4. Improvement in oxygenation | ||||||||||
| 5. Improvement of associated signs/symptoms | ||||||||||
| 6. Routine chest X-rays are not appropriate for patient monitoring | ||||||||||
| Return to Main Index | ||||||||||