Microbiological diagnostic tests for community-acquired pneumonia are useful

Tramontana, Adrian R; Sinickas, Vincent

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03489.x

Topics

To the Editor: Influenza causes around 8% of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) episodes,1 and during the (H1N1) 2009 influenza pandemic, concurrent bacterial infections were detected in up to 29% of fatal infections.2 Determining microbial aetiology of CAP can guide antibiotic and antiviral therapy.

1 Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC.
2 Melbourne Health Shared Pathology Service, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.

Correspondence: Adrian.Tramontana@petermac.org

Acknowledgements:

Acknowledgement: We thank Garry Lane from Western Health for identifying potentially eligible patients in the suburban hospitals.

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2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bacterial coinfections in lung tissue specimens from fatal cases of 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) – United States, May-August 2009. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2009; 58: 1071-1074.
3. Respiratory tract infections: pneumonia. In: Therapeutic guidelines: antibiotic. Version 13. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Ltd, 2006.
4. Mandell LA, Wunderink RG, Anzueto A, et al. Infectious Diseases Society of America/American Thoracic Society consensus guidelines on the management of community-acquired pneumonia in adults. Clin Infect Dis 2007; 44 Suppl 2: S27-S72.

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