Community acquired pneumonia

Community-acquired pneumonia remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly among vulnerable populations. Despite advances in healthcare, it continues to challenge clinicians due to evolving pathogens, rising anti-biotic resistance, and changing patient demo-graphics. While Streptococcus pneumoniae is the commonest reported causative organism, poly-microbial infections and viral-bacterial co-infections are increasingly recognized, especially following influenza or SARS-CoV-2 infections.
In older adults, typical features of pneumonia such as fever and cough may be absent, thereby delaying the diagnosis and treatment. Chest radiographs often demonstrate air space consolidations, classi-cally of a lobar pattern in pneumococcal infections, while interstitial patterns are seen in other causes. Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) and CURB-65 are two validated tools for assessing the severity of community-acquired pneumonia. Treatment is usually empirical initially, based on likely pathogens and local resistance patterns. Patients not responding to antibiotics should be evaluated for complications of pneumonia or other pathogens like fungi.
Early diagnosis, appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy, antibiotic stewardship and supportive measures are the key to reducing mortality and improving patient outcomes.