Approach to Pneumonia in Immunocompetent Patients

Pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity. Pneumonia is defined as a lung inflammation of infectious etiology. It can be subcategorized into Community Acquired Pneumonia, Hospital Acquired Pneumonia and Ventilator Acquired Pneumonia. Validated scores including the CRB-65, CURB-65 and PSI can guide decision-making between inpatient and outpatient management of pneumonia. While mild presentations can be managed through empiric treatment alone, more acute cases require identification of the infectious agent, initiation of empiric therapy, and subsequent de-escalation of treatment to the identified pathogen. This article aims to provide a framework for junior trainees to diagnose and manage pneumonia.