PIDS and IDSA Issue management guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia in infants and young children

摘要

Previously published guidelines for the management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in adults have been shown to decrease morbidity and mortality rates. Although the effectiveness of these guidelines in adults has been clearly established, the clinical course of CAP in children varies considerably from one child to the next. As a result, physicians may employ other approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of CAP in infants and children, even when infection is caused by the same pathogen. In response, the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) have created new guidelines to address the management of CAP in infants and children. The guidelines are designed to advise primary care physicians and subspecialists who are responsible for the management of CAP in otherwise healthy infants and children in inpatient and outpatient settings. Areas of discussion include site-of-care management, diagnosis, antimicrobial therapy, and adjunctive surgical therapy.