Community-acquired pneumonia in elderly patients
- PMID: 20694055
- PMCID: PMC2917114
- DOI: 10.2217/ahe.09.74
Community-acquired pneumonia in elderly patients
Abstract
Community-acquired pneumonia continues to have a significant impact on elderly individuals, who are affected more frequently and with more severe consequences than younger populations. As the population ages it is expected that the medical and economic impact of this disease will increase. Despite these concerns, little progress has been made in research specifically focusing on community-acquired pneumonia in the elderly. Data continue to show that a high index of suspicion, early antimicrobial therapy and appropriate medications to cover typical pathogens are extremely important in treating community-acquired pneumonia in older individuals. This review is designed to serve as an update to our previous work published in Aging Health in 2006, with specific emphasis on the most recent evidence published since that time.
Conflict of interest statement
Antonio Anzueto has served in the speaker’s bureaus of Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Astra-Zeneca; Ortho-McNeil-Janssen, Johnson & Johnson; Bayer-Schering Pharma, Schering-Plough; in the advisory board of GlaxoSmithKline, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer-Schering Pharma, Schering-Plough and Pfizer; and is the principal investigator on research grants that were awarded to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio by GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Lilly Pharma.
Marcos I Restrepo has worked for the Speakers Bureaus of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Covidien and BARD, Inc., and is on the Advisory Boards for Ortho-McNeil-Janssen, Johnson & Johnson. Restrepo is supported by a Department of Veteran Affairs Veterans Integrated Service Network 17 new faculty grant and a CTSA Award Number (KL2 RR025766).
The authors have no other 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 apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
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