Community-acquired pneumonia and the National Clinical Protocol

Abstract

Background. Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most frequent causes of hospitalization among all lower respiratory tract diseases. Correct diagnosis, examination, and proper treatment management according to the National Clinical Protocol (NCP) still represent a challenge for clinicians. Objective(s). Evaluation of the adherence to the National Clinical Protocol regarding the hospitalization, examination, diagnosis, and treatment criteria for community-acquired pneumonia at the hospital stage. Materials and methods. The study is a retrospective, descriptive analysis of data from 40 patient records hospitalized in the Pneumology Department of SCM “Sfânta Treime” in the year 2024. The analyzed data included: admission criteria, investigation plan, and empirical antibiotic therapy criteria. The data were processed using SPSS software, version 23. Results. The average age of the patients was 65 ± 1.5 years, with an equal gender distribution of 50/50%. The hospitalization and examination criteria according to the NCP were respected in 100% of cases. Most patients presented with CAP of moderate severity evolution (75%). The etiological agent was identified in 57.5% of cases, most frequently Str. Viridans, Klebsiella pn., E. coli, and Group B beta-hemolytic Streptococcus. The most common antibiotic regimens were second/third-generation cephalosporins + macrolides or respiratory fluoroquinolones. The duration of antibiotic therapy was 10.6 days (moderate), 17 days (severe). Conclusion(s). Currently, maximum adherence to the NCP recommendations regarding hospitalization and examination criteria is observed. Treatment gaps may occur due to the changing bacterial antibiotic resistance patterns that emerged as a result. of antibiotic overuse during the post-COVID period.