Guidelines for the management of adult lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs)
This document is an update of ESCMID guidelines published in 2005 and now includes scientific publications through to May 2010. It provides evidence-based recommendations for the most common management questions occurring in routine clinical practice regarding the management of adult patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). Topics include management outside hospitals, management inside hospitals [including community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) (AECOPD) and acute exacerbations of bronchiectasis] and prevention.
Since the publication of the 2005 guidelines the term health care-associated pneumonia (HCAP) has been put forward to include groups of patients with pneumonia, some acquired outside hospital, expected to be caused by similar pathogens but different from those usually found in community-acquired LRTI. In the opinion of the taskforce members the evidence base does not support the use of this term as being clinically relevant in Europe at the present time. HCAP is therefore not covered further in this document.