Multicenter, multinational observational studies: a new approach to studying community-acquired pneumonia.

Using the Internet, it is possible to perform multicenter international projects easier, faster, and less expensive than in the past. Making large international databases available to investigators from around the world will greatly expand the possibilities to obtain new knowledge in the areas of community-acquired pneumo-nia (CAP) research and quality. By closing the gap between clinical research and clinical practice, the management of patients with CAP will improve worldwide.