Revisión bibliográfica sobre la efectividad y duración del tratamiento antimicrobiano usado en pacientes mayores a 65 años con neumonía adquirida en la comunidad

Abstract

Community-acquired pneumonia is a common respiratory infection, with high morbidity and mortality in adult patients. The difficulty in etiological diagnosis means that in most cases empirical treatments are initiated or unnecessarily prolonged treatments are prescribed. This is why the present study's objective is to determine the effectiveness and duration of antimicrobial treatment used in patients over 65 years of age with CAP. The information was collected through an exhaustive bibliographic review of scientific articles available in Sciencedirect, PubMed and Scielo, in Spanish and English in the period of time between 2019 and 2024. Beta-lactams, macrolides and fluoroquinolones are used in the treatment of CAP. Short-term antimicrobial treatments present similar clinical benefits compared to long-term treatments in terms of efficacy, mortality, microbiological eradication and adverse reactions. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the main microorganism responsible for CAP in adult patients. In conclusion, the results analyzed were not statistically significant, therefore it is suggested that antibiotic therapy should be used at minimum times to observe therapeutic efficacy, in addition to an individualized approach to the patient's clinical conditions and the therapeutic regimens available in our country.