Treatment options for community-acquired pneumonia in the elderly people

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) represents one of the most common reasons for hospitalization in elderly people. Because older persons are the fastest growing segment of the population, a further increase of the incidence of CAP is expected in the next few years. Due to the high frequency, the different epidemiology, the atypical clinical presentation and the age-related modifications in drug metabolism that complicate the treatment, infections in the elderly people represent a major challenge for physicians. Despite the peculiarity of the management of CAP in the elderly people, no specific recommendations for antimicrobial treatment are provided in the international guidelines. The aim of this review is to give an update of the current antibiotic options for CAP in the elderly people reporting available data on the CAP etiology and risk factors, and tolerability, toxicity and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamic of antimicrobial agents used for elderly patients.