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Abstract
Key messages * In the last 14 years, a significant reduction in ICU mortality due to severe community-acquired pneumonia was observed. * In severe non-pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia, early antibiotic administration and combination therapy were associated with a significant improved survival. * A lower mortality was observed following early administration of combination therapy either in the subgroups of patients with shock, under mechanical ventilation and without shock or requirement of mechanical ventilation. * The most frequent etiologies in severe CAP in the present cohort were Staphylococcus aureus followed by Legionella pneumophila and Haemophilus influenzae. Ventilation with lower tidal volumes as compared with traditional tidal volumes for acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome. Predictive accuracy of the pneumonia severity index vs CRB-65 for time to clinical stability: results from the Community-Acquired Pneumonia Organization (CAPO) International Cohort Study.