Pneumonia diagnostic criteria

Community acquired pneumonia should be distinguished from healthcare-associated pneumonia as these diseases have different causative organism, prognosis, diagnostic and treatment guidelines.

Patient who has not been hospitalized or in an institutional setting for the past 2 weeks and have the following findings:

• CXR findings of a new infiltrate. Although there is no gold standard for the diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia (CAP), a new infiltrate on chest radiograph in the setting of acute respiratory complaints (e.g., cough and dyspnea) is considered highly suggestive of CAP.
• At least 2 of the four need to be present. The four symptoms are fever, cough, dyspnea, chest pain.

According to the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Thoracic Society healthcare-associated pneumonia includes any patient who meet the below criteria ^[1]

• Hospitalized in an acute care hospital for 2 or more days within 90 days of the infection;
• Resided in a nursing home or long-term care facility;
• Received recent intravenous antibiotic therapy, chemotherapy, or wound care within the past 30 days of the current infection;
• Attended a hospital or hemodialysis clinic.

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