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The Changing Community-Acquired Pneumonia Landscape with Thomas File, MD, MSc, MACP

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File joins Lungcast to review the ATS-IDSA 2019 guideline updates for community-acquired pneumonia, and advances to diagnostics and care.

Among the most commonly encountered and morbid conditions globally, community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is associated with nearly 5 million annual outpatient and emergency room visits in the US annually. It is the second most common cause of hospitalization and is associated with a notable risk of recurring disease; approximately 1 in 10 patients hospitalized with CAP are re-hospitalized with a new episode in the same year.

The means to treat the highly common and burden condition, though, are well-established and even gradually improving. In fact, updates to guidelines originally published by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) in 2019 reflect progress being made in CAP diagnostics and care.1

In the June 2024 episode of Lungcast, Thomas M. File, Jr., MD, MSc, MACP, distinguished physician in the infectious disease division at Summa Health, and professor emeritus of internal medicine and master teacher of the infectious disease section at Northeast Ohio Medical University, joins to provide a comprehensive update on the modern management and research into CAP.

Among the topics File reviewed with host Albert Rizzo, MD, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association, were the ATS-IDSA guidelines around the standard treatment algorithm for CAP, the evolution of diagnostic tools following the COVID-19 pandemic and introduction of mRNA technology, as well as the role of potential biomarkers including procalcitonin.

File and Rizzo additionally discussed pneumonia therapies in development, improved focus on antibiotic stewardship in CAP following derailment due to the pandemic, and File’s 2023 review of gaps in CAP research, including the role of cardiovascular events.2

Lungcast is a monthly respiratory news podcast series hosted by Albert Rizzo, MD, chief medical officer of the ALA, and produced by HCPLive.

Subscribe to Lungcast on Spotify here, or listen to the episode below.


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