Local guidelines for management of adult community acquired pneumonia: a survey of UK hospitals
- B Barker1,
- J Macfarlane2,
- W S Lim3,
- G Douglas4,
- J Macfarlane3
- 1Respiratory Medicine, Princess Royal Hospital, Telford, Shropshire, UK
- 2Respiratory Unit, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh, UK
- 3City Hospital Campus, Nottingham University Hospital, Nottingham, UK
- 4Chest Clinic, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, UK
- Dr B Barker, Respiratory Medicine, Princess Royal Hospital, Apley Castle, Telford, Shropshire TF1 6TF, UK; bethanbarker{at}hotmail.com
- Accepted 29 June 2008
There are continuing advances in severity assessment and antibiotic therapy for community acquired pneumonia (CAP). The British Thoracic Society (BTS) updated its national guidelines on adult CAP management in 2004.1 2 A study was undertaken to examine local and national influences on guidelines used in UK hospitals for the management of adult CAP.
Methods
A questionnaire was sent to each of the 254 hospitals in the BTS directory in September 2006 (see fig 1 in online supplement). Data were analysed using Microsoft Excel. Differences in categorical variables were tested for statistical significance using the χ2 test with the Fisher exact test.
Results
The response rate was 60% (n = 152); 92% of hospitals (n = 140) had locally written CAP guidelines (although in only …
