Short antibiotic courses in community-acquired pneumonia in adults: less is better

Abstract

Despite considerable progress that has been made in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of respiratory tract infections, community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains a fairly common disease [1-3] that continues to have the status of the leading infectious cause of death in modern humans and claims more lives each year than tuberculosis, meningitis, AIDS and infective endocarditis taken all together [4]. In this case, it is evident that clinical guidelines stating, among other things, approaches to the rational empirical antibacterial therapy (ABT) of the disease are the most effective measures in achieving better outcomes of CAP [5–8]. However, the issue of determining the optimal duration of ABT remains a subject of lively discussions (Table. 1). It is important to note here that the clinical stability of patients with EP can be achieved in most cases during the first 3–5 days of empirical ABT, and it is a rare occasion when the need for long-term prescription of antibiotics arises [12].