Outcomes of Health Care–Associated Pneumonia Empirically Treated with Guideline-Concordant Regimens Versus Community-Acquired Pneumonia Guideline–Concordant Regimens for Patients Admitted to Acute Care Wards from Home

BACKGROUNDThe introduction of the health care–associated pneumonia (HCAP) categorization expanded recommendations for broad-spectrum empiric antibiotics to pneumonia patients presenting from the community with recent health care–system exposure. However, the efficacy of such regimens in improving clinical outcomes in these patients has not been well established.OBJECTIVETo compare the clinical outcomes of HCAP patients treated initially with HCAP guideline–concordant antibiotic regimens to those treated initially with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) guideline-concordant antibiotic regimens.METHODSThis retrospective study included HCAP patients presenting from home and admitted to general medical wards. HCAP regimen patients were treated empirically with at least 1 antipseudomonal agent. All other patients were assigned to the CAP regimen group. The primary end point was clinical cure at 30 days postdischarge. Subgroup analysis was performed in patients hospitalized 1–30 days and 31–90 days before the H...