Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

DIAGNOSTIC TESTING FOR COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED PNEUMONIA

1999; Elsevier BV; Volume: 20; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0272-5231(05)70234-3

1557-8216

Shawn Skerrett,

Nosocomial Infections in ICU

The clinical, radiographic, and routine laboratory features of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) can offer clues to the microbial cause of the infection, but a specific etiologic diagnosis requires the assistance of the microbiology laboratory.143 Whether or not diagnostic testing is helpful in the management of community-acquired pneumonia is a subject of controversy that has been debated elsewhere. 138a, 144 This article reviews the noninvasive and invasive methods currently available for the microbiologic diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infection, considers the diagnostic challenges offered by specific common pathogens, and suggests a reasonable approach to the diagnostic evaluation of the patient with CAP.