Clinical and Microbiological Profile of Patients with Pneumonia Admitted to the ICU of a Tertiary Care Hospital in Southern Rajasthan

Abstract

Background. Lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) is an acute illness (presenting for 21 days or less), usually with cough as the main symptom, and with at least one other lower respiratory tract symptom, such as fever, sputum production, breathlessness, wheeze, chest discomfort or pain. Out of the LRTIs, pneumonia is the most common. This study was conducted to determine the clinical profile of pneumonia in a medical and respiratory intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary care hospital, to identify different micro-organisms in respiratory samples of the patients and pattern of antibiotic susceptibility and to develop antibiogram charts for starting empirical therapy in the ICU.