Shorter antibiotic courses in community-acquired pneumonia—ready for prime time

Pneumonia causes a significant burden of disease in the world, second only to ischaemic heart disease (1). Whilst the major burden of pneumonia is felt in low and middle income countries, it is, importantly, the leading cause of death from infection in the United States (2). Hence the global impact of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), especially its mortality and morbidity, is often cited as an important reason for improving care in these patients. The economic burden of CAP is considerable and often overlooked and interventions that might decrease costs, including shortening the length of hospital stay and the duration of antibiotic treatment, also need to be considered. There are other potential benefits of shortening antibiotic courses, including better patient compliance and fewer adverse events. Probably the most important benefit of shorter courses would be to decrease the risk of antibiotic resistance