Healthcare-associated pneumonia: approach to management

Risk Factors for Drug-Resistant Cap in Immunocompetent Patients

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The increase in drug-resistant community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is an important problem all over the world. This article explores the current state of antimicrobial resistance of different bacteria that cause CAP and also assesses risk factors to identify those pathogens.

RECENT FINDINGS

In the last two decades, it has been documented that there is a significant increase in drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae and other bacteria causing CAP. The most important risk factors are overuse of antibiotics, prior hospitalization, and lung comorbidities. The direct consequences can be severe, including prolonged stays in hospital, increased costs, and morbi-mortality. However, drug-resistant CAP declined after the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. This review found an increase in resistance to the antibiotics used in CAP, and the risk factor can be used for identifying patients with drug-resistant CAP and initiate appropriate treatment. Judicious use of antibiotics and the development of effective new vaccines are needed.

Management of Respiratory Failure

The management of acute respiratory failure varies according to the etiology. A clear understanding of physiology of respiration and pathophysiological mechanisms of respiratory failure is mandatory for managing these patients. The extent of abnormality in arterial blood gas values is a result of the balance between the severity of disease and the degree of compensation by cardiopulmonary system. Normal blood gases do not mean that there is an absence of disease because the homeostatic system can compensate. However, an abnormal arterial blood gas value reflects uncompensated disease that might be life threatening.

Healthcare-associated Pneumonia and Aspiration Pneumonia

Healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) is a new concept of pneumonia proposed by the American Thoracic Society/Infectious Diseases Society of America in 2005. This category is located between community-acquired pneumonia and hospital-acquired pneumonia with respect to the characteristics of the causative pathogens and mortality, and primarily targets elderly patients in healthcare facilities. Aspiration among such patients is recognized to be a primary mechanism for the development of pneumonia, particularly since the HCAP guidelines were published. However, it is difficult to manage patients with aspiration pneumonia because the definition of the condition is unclear, and the treatment is associated with ethical aspects. This review focused on the definition, prevalence and role of aspiration pneumonia as a prognostic factor in published studies of HCAP and attempted to identify problems associated with the concept of aspiration pneumonia.