Update of guidelines for management of Community Acquired pneumonia in adults by the French Infectious Disease Society (SPILF) and the French-Speaking Society of Respiratory Diseases (SPLF)

Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) of Presumed Bacterial Origin: Updated Management Guidelines

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) of presumed bacterial origin is a common condition with varying severity, requiring either outpatient, hospital, or even critical care management.

The French Infectious Diseases Society (SPILF) and the French Language Pulmonology Society (SPLF), in collaboration with the French Societies of Microbiology (SFM), Emergency Medicine (SFMU), Radiology (SFR), and Intensive Care Medicine (SRLF), along with representatives of general practice, have coordinated an update of the previous management guidelines, which dated back to 2010.

From a therapeutic perspective, the updated recommendations define the choice of initial empiric antibiotic therapy, indications for combination therapy, the use of anti-Pseudomonas beta-lactams, antibiotic treatment duration, and the indications and modalities for prescribing systemic corticosteroids.

On a biological level, indications for biomarkers and microbiological investigations have been refined. Regarding imaging, the role of different modalities in the diagnosis and follow-up of CAP has been reassessed, including chest X-ray, pleuropulmonary ultrasound, and thoracic CT scan