responsible for community-acquired pneumonia
or to have immediate results of sputum culture -
if sputum specimen is available-a
broad-spectrum antibiotic such as amoxicillin is
generally prescribed (British National Formulary
(BNF) 2005). The most likely organisms are
pneumococcus and Hae/Jiophilus itifluenzae.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia is diagnosed
when the patient has spent the whole ofthe
incubation period in hospital and is the third
most common nosocomial infection after urinary
and wound infections. It affects between two and
SIX patients per one thousand patients ultimately
discharged (Hughes 1992). An antibiotic
targeted to Ciram-negative bacilli alone or in
combination with anti-pseudomonas therapy is
the accepted first-line treatment.
Hydration Aminimumof2.5 litres