[Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) with hospital treatment. The value of the clinical picture and complementary exams in predicting its etiology].
We studied 162 patients with community-acquired pneumonia admitted for hospital treatment, in order to determine the utility of clinical and ancillary examinations for predicting etiology and guiding the most appropriate empirical treatment. Acute first appearance of symptoms, purulent expectoration, chest sounds indicating lung condensation, pleuritic chest pain and leukocytosis over 12,500/ml were statistically significant in differentiating typical pneumonias from those with atypical behavior patterns. The last two features were the most relevant according to multivariate analysis. We conclude that careful taking of case histories and basic blood testing continue to be relevant and must not be considered anachronistic for the differential diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonias.