Abstract
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a disease that occurs in varying degrees of severity, from self-healing infections to fatal pneumonia in children and adults. There are several reasons for the different course of CAP, the main ones being the characteristics of the causative agents of this infection, possible basic non-infectious diseases of the patient and the chosen method of treatment.
The patient's treatment balance should take into account that his underlying disease can only be partially corrected and that the species, pathogenicity and susceptibility of the microbe causing pneumonia cannot be affected at all. The course and outcome of pneumonia treatment therefore depends primarily on the assessment of the presence of symptoms typical of the pathogen, the severity of the patient's condition, the epidemiological situation and the choice of the correct procedure.
The course of mild to moderate pneumonia affects the application of antibiotics only minimally, 1 while the early choice of an effective antibiotic and the method of its administration are particularly important for the good outcome of the treatment of severe pneumonia, especially if caused by pneumococci. The aim of this communication is to assess the position of penicillins and macrolides in the treatment of severe CAP caused by pneumococci in the Czech Republic (CR) based on our own data on the state of antibiotic resistance and clinical experience.