Severe community-acquired pneumonia in adults: current antimicrobial chemotherapy.

Severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the most common infectious cause of admission to the intensive care unit and is associated with significant adverse outcomes. Antimicrobial therapy is a major aspect in the management of patients with severe CAP. This review focuses on antimicrobial therapies for severe CAP, including selection of empiric antibiotic therapy, the use of specific agents in mono or combination therapy and the duration of therapy. Early appropriate antimicrobial therapy with revision following culture confirmation, is a mainstay of therapy. There is limited evidence to guide the use of specific drugs, multidrug effective regimens and the duration of therapy, and an individualized approach is needed.