Rapid detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae in community-acquired pneumonia

ABSTRACTThe utility of diagnostic studies to determine the aetiology of community-acquired pneumonia is controversial because of the lack of rapid, easily performed, accurate, cost-effective methods that provide immediate results for the majority of patients at the initial evaluation by a clinician in an office or acute-care setting. Nevertheless, there are good reasons for establishing an aetiological diagnosis, namely to direct antibiotic management for an individual patient, to facilitate management of treatment failure and, by de-escalation or narrowing of antibiotic therapy, to potentially decrease healthcare costs, drug side-effects and the selection pressure for antibiotic resistance. This article outlines the clinical value of Gram's stain and briefly surveys current tests for Streptococcus pneumoniae based on immunological and molecular assays.