SEVERE COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED PNEUMONIA CAUSED BY ATYPICAL ORGANISMS

Three cases of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), requiring intensive care admission, are presented. The clinical picture of a ''typical'' bacterial pneumonia in the three patients led to an initial empirical treatment with amoxicillin clavulanic acid or 2(nd) generation cephalo sporins. The treatment had to be changed in all three because of clini cal failure. Erythromycin was added to the therapy with good clinical evolution. Serology confirmed atypical organisms to be responsible. On ly the chest X-ray might have suggested an ''atypical'' or a ''viral-l ike'' agent. A proposition is made for an empirical combination of ant ibiotics in severely ill patients with CAP with more than unilobar con solidation.