Table 1

Aetiology of hospitalised CAP in adults in Europe

Causative pathogenFrequency
(%)
Bacterial pathogens0–47
 Streptococcus pneumoniae11–68
 Haemophilus influenzae5.3–12.3
 Legionella pneumophilia0–12.8
 Staphylococcus aureus0–11.8
 Moraxella catarrhalis0–5.4
Gram-negative bacteria0–24.2
 Mycoplasma pneumoniae0.7–32.0
 Chlamydia pneumoniae1.0–26.5
Viruses0–34
 Influenza viruses15–19
 Rhinoviruses0.7–12.0
 Respiratory syncytial virus3–4
 Parainfluenza3
 Metapneumovirus3
 Adenoviruses0.4–04
 Bacterial–viral coinfection31

  • The main causative organisms for CAP are listed, with frequency expressed as a percentage. Relative frequencies are pooled from multiple studies; some studies did not test for certain pathogens. Adapted from Welte and Köhnlein,4 Ewig et al9 and Holter et al.10

  • CAP, community-acquired pneumonia.