Pneumonia (along with influenza) is the sixth leading cause of death in adults. About 4 million adults develop pneumonia each year in the US, resulting in 64 million days of restricted activity, 39 million days of bed confinement, and 10 million days of lost work. Yet the admission rates to hospital, length of stay, investigations, antimicrobial therapy and prevention strategies vary greatly from one geographic area to the next, and the scientific basis for many of our management strategies for pneumonia is weak to nonexistent. There are over 100 microbial agents that can cause pneumonia and many of these, especially Streptococcus pneumoniae, Group A streptococcus, and Staphylococcus aureus, are in a state of flux in terms of changing antimicrobial resistance. This book is designed to provide new information about pneumonia and identify critical research questions that will come to the fore as we enter the 21st century.

The Captain of the Men of Death.- Epidemiology of Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- Clinical Features and Outcomes of Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- Laboratory Diagnosis of Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- Polymerase Chain Reaction Techniques in the Diagnosis of Pneumonia.- Imaging Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- The Pathology of Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- Etiology of Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- Nursing Home-Acquired Pneumonia.- Treatment of Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- Pathophysiology of Pneumonia and the Clinical Consequences.- Intensive Care Unit Management of Pneumonia.- End-of-life Decision-making in Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- Prevention of Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- Aspiration Pneumonia.- Complicated Pleural Effusion in Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- A Critical Pathway for the Treatment of Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- Pneumonia in Pregnancy.- Pneumonia in Children and Adolescents.- Pneumonia in HIV-Infected Patients.- Community-Acquired Pneumonia in the Immunocompromised Host.- Chronic Bacterial Pneumonia.- Pneumonia Mimics.- Lung Abscess.- Nonresolving Pneumonia.- Community-Acquired Pneumonia Associated with Exposure to Contaminated Water.- Pneumococcal Pneumonia.- Haemophilus influenzae.- Community-Acquired Pneumonia: Staphylococcus aureus.- Mycoplasma pneumoniae Pneumonia.- Community-Acquired Pneumonia Due to Chlamydia pneumoniae.- Legionnaires' Disease.- Community-Acquired Aerobic Gram-Negative Bacillary Pneumonia.- Community-Acquired Pneumonia Due to Nonfermenting Gram-Negative Bacilli.- Miscellaneous Bacterial Causes of Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- Q Fever.- Viral Pneumonia Due to Influenza and Parainfluenza Viruses and Adenoviruses.- Respiratory Syncytial Virus Pneumonia.- Measles and Varicella Pneumonia.- Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome.-Epstein-Barr Virus Pneumonia.- Community-Acquired Pneumonia Due to Cytomegalovirus, Herpes Simplex Virus-1, and Human Herpes Virus-6.- Community-Acquired Fungal Diseases.- Penicillium and Other Miscellaneous Fungi as Causal Agents in Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- Aspergillus Species as Agents of Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonia.- Group B Streptococcal and Other Non-Pneumococcal Streptococcal Pneumonia.- Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a Cause of Community-Acquired Pneumonia.- Pneumonia Caused by Yersinia pestis: Plague Pneumonia.- Nontuberculous Mycobacteria.- Melioidosis.- Pneumonia Due to Nocardia Species.- Actinomycosis.- Tularemia.- Psittacosis.- Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis.- Pasteurella Multocida.- Rhodococcus equi and Bordetella bronchiseptica.- Parasites.