Oral antibiotics for pneumonia

Abstract

The majority of patients presenting with community-acquired pneumonia can be treated with oral antibiotics and can be managed successfully as outpatients. Oral-antibiotic selection requires a knowledge of the classes of antibiotics available, utility of diagnostic testing, epidemiology of pneumonia, and a rational approach to empiric therapy when a cause cannot be immediately identified. These topics are reviewed, with the goal improved therapeutic efficacy in the oral treatment of pneumonia.