Worldwide guidelines for respiratory tract infections: community-acquired pneumonia

The management of respiratory tract infections is a complex process. Concer n over increasing levels of bacterial resistance and the inappropriate use of antibiotics has led to the development of clinical guidelines for the tr eatment of respiratory tract infections. Despite the development of these g uidelines, a consensus on the optimal care for lower respiratory tract infe ctions has not been attained. Guidelines for the management of community-ac quired pneumonia (CAP) have been developed since the 1990s in the USA, Cana da, and a number of European countries. Constant re-evaluation of guideline s for CAP is necessary to ensure that the recommendations that were made in the early 1990s still hold true in the new millennium. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. on behalf of International Society of Chemotherapy .