Background/aim: The optimal empiric antibiotic regimen for patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical cure rate, mortality, and length of stay among patients hospitalized with community- acquired pneumonia in nonintensive care unit (ICU) wards and treated with a β-lactam, β-lactam and macrolide combination, or a fluoroquinolone.
Materials and methods: This prospective cohort study was performed using standardized web-based database sheets from January 2009 to September 2013 in nine tertiary care hospitals in Turkey.
Results: Six hundred and twenty-one consecutive patients were enrolled. A pathogen was identified in 78 (12.6%) patients. The most frequently isolated bacteria were S. pneumoniae (21.8%) and P. aeruginosa (19.2%). The clinical cure rate and length of stay were not different among patients treated with β-lactam, β-lactam and macrolide combination, and fluoroquinolone. Forty-seven patients (9.2%) died during the hospitalization period. There was no difference in survival among the three treatment groups.
Conclusion: In patients admitted to non-ICU hospital wards for CAP, there was no difference in clinical outcomes between β-lactam, β-lactam and macrolide combination, and fluoroquinolone regimens.
Keywords: Pneumonia; beta-lactam; fluoroquinolone; macrolide.