Pneumonia medical therapy

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Most cases of pneumonia can be treated without hospitalization. Typically, oral antibiotics, rest, fluids, and home care are sufficient for complete resolution. However, people with pneumonia who are having trouble breathing, people with other medical problems, and the elderly may need more advanced treatment. If the symptoms get worse, the pneumonia does not improve with home treatment, or complications occur, the person will often have to be hospitalized.

Medical Therapy

General considerations

• The treatment of pneumonia involves three critical decisions: firstly whether the patient truly has pneumonia, secondly what is the severity of the pneumonia, and lastly whether hospitalization is required for adequate management.
• Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial pneumonia. In contrast, antibiotics are not useful for viral pneumonia, although they sometimes are used to treat or prevent bacterial infections that can occur in lungs damaged by a viral pneumonia. The antibiotic choice depends on:
  • Nature of the pneumonia,
  • Microorganisms endemic to a local geographic area
  • Immune status and
  • Underlying health of the individual.
• Treatment for pneumonia should ideally be based on the causative microorganism and its known antibiotic sensitivity. However, a specific cause for pneumonia is identified in only 50% of people, even after extensive evaluation.
• Since, treatment should generally not be delayed in any person with a serious pneumonia,empiric treatment is usually started well before laboratory reports are available.
• Multiple antibiotics may be administered in combination in an attempt to treat all of the possible causative microorganisms. Antibiotic choices vary from hospital to hospital because of regional differences in the most likely microorganisms, and because of differences in the microorganisms' abilities to resist various antibiotic treatments.
• Treatment of viral pneumonia caused by influenza are beneficial only if they are started within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.
• Many strains of H5N1 influenza A, also known as avian influenza or "bird flu," have shown resistance to rimantadine and amantadine.
• There are no known effective treatments for viral pneumonias caused by the SARS coronavirus, adenovirus, hantavirus, or parainfluenza virus.
• In both cases, a person's risk factors for different organisms must be remembered when choosing the initial antibiotics (called empiric therapy).
• In general, all therapies in older children and adults will include treatment for atypical bacteria. Typically this is a macrolide antibiotic such as azithromycin or clarithromycin although a fluoroquinolone such as levofloxacin can substitute.

The decision to hospitalize

• Some people with CAP require hospitalization and more intensive care than the majority. Clinical prediction rules, such as the pneumonia severity index and CURB-65 have been developed to help guide the decision. Factors which increase the need for hospitalization include:
  • Age > 65 yrs, in most cases, men over 70 and women over 80 should be managed as inpatients when diagnosed with CAP
  • Confusion
  • Underlying chronic illnesses;
  • Evidence of infection outside the lung.
  • Vitals:
    • Respiratory rate > 30 breaths/minute;
    • SBP < 90 mmHg;
    • Heart rate > 125/min;
    • Temperature < 35 or >40°C;
  • Laboratory results which increase the need for hospitalization include:
    • Arterial oxygen tension < 60 mm Hg,
    • Carbon dioxide > 50 mmHg,
    • pH < 7.35 on room air;
    • Hematocrit < 30%;
    • Creatinine > 1.2 mg/dl or
    • Blood urea nitrogen > 20 mg/ dl;
    • White blood cell count < 4 × 10^9/L or > 30 × 10^9/L; and
    • Absolute neutrophil count < 1 x 10^9/L.
    • X-ray findings which increase the need for hospitalization include involvement of more than one lobe of the lung, presence of a cavity, and the presence of a pleural effusion.

Newborn infants

Most newborn infants with CAP are hospitalized and given intravenous ampicillin and gentamicin for at least ten days. This treats the common bacteria Streptococcus agalactiae, Listeria monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli. If herpes simplex virus is the cause, intravenous acyclovir is administered for 21 days.

Children

Treatment of CAP in children depends on both the age of the child and the severity of his/her illness. Children less than five do not typically receive treatment to cover atypical bacteria. If a child does not need to be hospitalized, amoxicillin for seven days is a common treatment. However, with increasing prevalence of DRSP, other agents such as cefpodoxime will most likely become more popular in the future. Hospitalized children should receive intravenous ampicillin, ceftriaxone, or cefotaxime.

Treatment

In cases of viral pneumonia where influenza A or B are thought to be causative agents, patients who are seen within 48 hours of symptom onset may benefit from treatment with oseltamivir or zanamivir. Respiratory syncytial virus|RSV may be treated with ribavirin. Herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster virus infections are usually treated with aciclovir, whilst ganciclovir is used to treat cytomegalovirus. There is no known efficacious treatment for pneumonia caused by SARS coronavirus, adenovirus, hantavirus, or parainfluenza virus; treatment is largely supportive.

Infectious Diseases Society of America/American Thoracic Society consensus recommendation on pandemic Influenza community-acquired pneumonia in adults. (DONOT EDIT)

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Previously healthy and no risk factors for drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae infection

• A macrolide (azithromycin, clarithromycin, or [[erythromycin) (Strong recommendation; level I evidence)

• Doxycycline (Weak recommendation; level III evidence)

Presence of comorbidities or other risks for drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae infection:

Presence of comorbidities, such as chronic heart, lung, liver, or renal disease; diabetes mellitus; alcoholism; malignancies; asplenia; immunosuppressing conditions or use of immunosuppressing drugs; use of antimicrobials within the previous 3 months (in which case an alternative from a different class should be selected); or other risks for DRSP infection:

• A respiratory fluoroquinolone (moxifloxacin, gemifloxacin, or levofloxacin [750 mg]) (Strong recommendation; level I evidence)
• A beta-lactam plus a macrolide (Strong recommendation; level I evidence) (High-dose amoxicillin [e.g., 1 g 3 times daily] or amoxicillin-clavulanate [2 g 2 times daily] is preferred; alternatives include ceftriaxone, cefpodoxime, and cefuroxime [500 mg 2 times daily]; doxycycline (level II evidence) is an alternative to the macrolide.)

In regions with a high rate (>25%) of infection

In regions with a high rate (>25%) of infection with high-level (minimal inhibitory concentration [MIC], >16 micrograms/mL) macrolide-resistant S. pneumoniae, consider the use of alternative agents listed above in recommendation 16 for any patient, including those without comorbidities. (Moderate recommendation; level III evidence)

Inpatient, Non-ICU Treatment

The following regimens are recommended for hospital ward treatment.

• A respiratory fluoroquinolone (Strong recommendation; level I evidence)

• A beta-lactam plus a macrolide (Strong recommendation; level I evidence) (Preferred beta-lactam agents include cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, and ampicillin; ertapenem for selected patients; with doxycycline (level III evidence) as an alternative to the macrolide. A respiratory fluoroquinolone should be used for penicillin-allergic patients.)

Inpatient, ICU Treatment

The following regimen is the minimal recommended treatment for patients admitted to the ICU.

• A beta-lactam (cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, or ampicillin-sulbactam) plus either azithromycin (level II evidence) or a fluoroquinolone (Strong recommendation; level I evidence) (For penicillin-allergic patients, a respiratory fluoroquinolone and aztreonam are recommended.)

• For Pseudomonas infection, use an antipneumococcal, antipseudomonal beta-lactam (piperacillin-tazobactam, cefepime, imipenem, or meropenem) plus either ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin (750-mg dose)

or the above beta-lactam plus an aminoglycoside and azithromycin or the above beta-lactam plus an aminoglycoside and an antipneumococcal fluoroquinolone (for penicillin-allergic patients, substitute aztreonam for the above beta-lactam). (Moderate recommendation; level III evidence)

• For community-acquired methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infection, add vancomycin or linezolid. (Moderate recommendation; level III evidence)

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Infectious Diseases Society of America/American Thoracic Society consensus recommendation on pandemic Influenza community-acquired pneumonia in adults. (DO NOT EDIT)

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Pathogen-directed Therapy Once the etiology of CAP has been identified on the basis of reliable microbiological methods, antimicrobial therapy should be directed at that pathogen (Moderate recommendation; level III evidence) Early treatment (within 48 h of the onset of symptoms) with oseltamivir or zanamivir is recommended for influenza A. (Strong recommendation; level I evidence) Use of oseltamivir and zanamivir is not recommended for patients with uncomplicated influenza with symptoms for >48 h (level I evidence), but these drugs may be used to reduce viral shedding in hospitalized patients or for influenza pneumonia. (Moderate recommendation; level III evidence) Pandemic Influenza Patients with an illness compatible with influenza and with known exposure to poultry in areas with previous H5N1 infection should be tested for H5N1 infection. (Moderate recommendation; level III evidence) In patients with suspected H5N1 infection, droplet precautions and careful routine infection control measures should be used until an H5N1 infection is ruled out. (Moderate recommendation; level III evidence) Patients with suspected H5N1 infection should be treated with oseltamivir (level II evidence) and antibacterial agents targeting S. pneumoniae and S. aureus, the most common causes of secondary bacterial pneumonia in patients with influenza. (Moderate recommendation; level III evidence)

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Infectious Diseases Society of America/American Thoracic Society consensus recommendation on pandemic Influenza community-acquired pneumonia in adults. (DONOT EDIT)

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Time to First Antibiotic Dose For patients admitted through the emergency department (ED), the first antibiotic dose should be administered while still in the ED. (Moderate recommendation; level III evidence) Switch from Intravenous to Oral Therapy Patients should be switched from intravenous to oral therapy when they are hemodynamically stable and improving clinically, are able to ingest medications, and have a normally functioning gastrointestinal tract. (Strong recommendation; level II evidence). Patients should be discharged as soon as they are clinically stable, have no other active medical problems, and have a safe environment for continued care. Inpatient observation while receiving oral therapy is not necessary. (Moderate recommendation; level II evidence) Duration of Antibiotic Therapy Patients with CAP should be treated for a minimum of 5 days (level I evidence), should be afebrile for 48 to 72 h, and should have no more than 1 CAP-associated sign of clinical instability before discontinuation of therapy. (level II evidence) (Moderate recommendation) A longer duration of therapy may be needed if initial therapy was not active against the identified pathogen or if it was complicated by extrapulmonary infection, such as meningitis or endocarditis. (Weak recommendation; level III evidence)

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