Nursing home-acquired pneumonia.

Nursing home-acquired pneumonia (NHAP) was first described in 1978. Since then there has been much written regarding NHAP and its management despite the lack of well-designed studies in this patient population. The most characteristic features of patients with NHAP are the atypical presentation, which may lead to delay in diagnosis and therapy. The microbial etiology of pneumonia encompasses a wide spectrum that spans microbes recovered from patients with community-acquired pneumonia to organisms considered specific only to nosocomial settings. Decision to transfer a nursing home patient to an acute care facility depends on a host of factors, which include the level of staffing available at the nursing home, patients' advance directives, and complexity of treatment. The presence of risk factors for multidrug-resistant pathogens dictates approach to therapy. Prevention remains the cornerstone of reducing the incidence of disease. Despite the advance in medical services, mortality from NHAP remains high.