Murdoch David R, Chambers Stephen T
Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Lancet Infect Dis. 2009 Aug;9(8):512-9. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(09)70148-3.
The term atypical pneumonia was originally used to describe an unusual presentation of pneumonia. It is now more widely used in reference to either pneumonia caused by a relatively common group of pathogens, or to a distinct clinical syndrome the existence of which is difficult to demonstrate. As such, the use of atypical pneumonia is often inaccurate, potentially confusing, and of dubious scientific merit. We need to return to the original meaning of atypical pneumonia and restrict its use to describe pneumonia that is truly unusual in clinical presentation, epidemiology, or both.
术语“非典型肺炎”最初用于描述肺炎的一种不寻常表现。现在它更广泛地用于指代由一组相对常见的病原体引起的肺炎，或者指代一种难以证实其存在的独特临床综合征。因此，使用“非典型肺炎”这个术语往往不准确、可能造成混淆且科学价值存疑。我们需要回归“非典型肺炎”的原始含义，并将其使用限制于描述在临床表现、流行病学或两者方面真正不寻常的肺炎。
