Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Urgent Care Medicine (Pharmacology CME and Infectious Disease CME)

Points & Pearls Excerpt

• CAP is an acute infection of the lung parenchyma in patients who have not been hospitalized or had recent exposure to the healthcare system.
• Though the most commonly identified pathogen in CAP is Streptococcus pneumoniae, it is responsible for only 5% to 15% of hospitalized cases.¹³
• High-risk CAP mimics include congestive heart failure exacerbations, acute coronary syndromes, pulmonary embolism, neoplastic lesions, and pulmonary abscess/empyema.
• Identification of sepsis related to pneumonia is imperative and includes an assessment of the patient’s vital signs and the clinical signs and symptoms of severe sepsis and septic shock.
• The most frequently reported symptom in patients with CAP is cough, observed in 80% to 90% of patients.²⁴ Antitussives are not very effective,⁵⁶ and patients should be counseled on the risks of opioid agents and assured that the cough will improve as the pneumonia resolves.