The European vision of community-acquired pneumonia.

Community-acquired pneumonia is common throughout the 53 European countries. Despite differences in population structure and habits there are many similarities between countries, including overall frequency and distribution of major causative pathogens. There are, however, also differences between countries, particularly in the frequency of bacterial antibiotic resistance and to a lesser extent how the condition is managed. Having said this there are many gaps in our knowledge with little or no data available from some countries, especially those in the eastern Europe. It is hoped that future years will see these gaps filled through continuing research.