Therapy in pneumonia: what is beyond antibiotics?

Abstract

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common and serious disease with significant mortality, morbidity and associated healthcare costs. Severity of pneumonia is related to the extent of the inflammatory response. Primary goal in the treatment of pneumonia is starting adequate antibiotic therapy as soon as possible. However, antimicrobial resistance among the most common bacteria causing pneumonia is increasing. For those two reasons, extended inflammatory response and increasing antibiotic resistance, it is interesting to look at adjunctive non-antibiotic therapeutic strategies aimed at modulation of the inflammatory response or at the micro-organism itself. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge regarding these therapies and their possible role in the future.