Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Dec 14;31(166):220123.
doi: 10.1183/16000617.0123-2022. Print 2022 Dec 31.

Severe community-acquired pneumonia

Affiliations
Review

Severe community-acquired pneumonia

Michael S Niederman et al. Eur Respir Rev. .

Abstract

Severe community-acquired pneumonia is the most life-threatening form of community-acquired pneumonia, characterised by intensive care unit admission and high morbidity and mortality. In this review article, we cover in depth six aspects of severe community-acquired pneumonia that are still controversial: use of PCR molecular techniques for microbial diagnosis; the role of biomarkers for initial management; duration of treatment, macrolides or quinolones in the initial empirical antibiotic therapy; the use of prediction scores for drug-resistant pathogens to modify initial empiric therapy; the use of noninvasive mechanical ventilation and high-flow nasal oxygen; and the use of corticosteroids as adjunctive therapy in severe community-acquired pneumonia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: M.S. Niederman has received grants or contracts from Shionogi, Merck and Bayer; and consulting fees from Pfizer, Merck, Shionogi, Bayer, Thermo Fisher and Nabriva, outside the submitted work. He also reports participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for Fab'entec. Conflicts of interest: A. Torres is a current Editorial Board member for the European Respiratory Review and reports consulting fees from Pfizer, Poliphor, MSD and Jansen OM Pharma; and payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Pfizer, Poliphor, MSD and Jansen OM Pharma, outside the submitted work.

Comment in

  • doi: 10.1183/16000617.0150-2022

References

    1. Metlay JP, Waterer GW, Long AC, et al. . Diagnosis and treatment of adults with community-acquired pneumonia. An official clinical practice guideline of the American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2019; 200: e45–e67. doi:10.1164/rccm.201908-1581ST - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Valencia M, Badia JR, Cavalcanti M, et al. . Pneumonia severity index class V patients with community-acquired pneumonia: characteristics, outcomes, and value of severity scores. Chest 2007; 132: 515–522. doi:10.1378/chest.07-0306 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cavallazzi R, Furmanek S, Arnold FW, et al. . The burden of community-acquired pneumonia requiring admission to ICU in the United States. Chest 2020; 158: 1008–1016. doi:10.1016/j.chest.2020.03.051 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ferrer M, Travierso C, Cilloniz C, et al. . Severe community-acquired pneumonia: characteristics and prognostic factors in ventilated and non-ventilated patients. PLoS One 2018; 13: e0191721. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0191721 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Torres A, Cilloniz C, Niederman MS, et al. . Pneumonia. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2021; 7: 25. doi:10.1038/s41572-021-00259-0 - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms