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. 2007:133–144. doi: 10.1007/978-0-387-49518-7_13

Current Concepts of Severe Pneumococcal Community-acquired Pneumonia

M Luján 2, C Muñoz-Almagro 3, J Rello 4
Editor: Jean-Louis Vincent*
PMCID: PMC7121908  PMID: 17091243

Abstract

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a major health problem, even in developed countries, being the leading cause of death due to infectious diseases in the USA [1]. CAP has a wide clinical spectrum of severity: up to 80% of patients are successfully managed in primary care, but 1 % of patients with CAP are classified as having severe disease, needing intensive care unit (ICU) admission, with 20–50% dying despite all available support and treatment options being utilized. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of CAP, enclosing the subset group of patients having severe disease [2]. Moreover, bacteremia is not uncommon in pneumococcal CAP (20%) and has been associated with increased severity and mortality compared with non-bacteremic pneumonia [3].

Keywords: Invasive Pneumococcal Disease, Pneumococcal Pneumonia, Pneumococcal Bacteremia, Combination Antibiotic Therapy, Pneumococcal Surface Protein

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