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Recent studies have shown that respiratory viruses are common causes of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) necessitating hospitalization in both adults and children (NEJM JW Gen Med Sep 1 2015 and N Engl J Med 2015; 373:415). To assess whether viruses contribute to hospital-acquired pneumonia, these authors performed a retrospective study at a Midwestern academic medical center where diagnostic testing for viral pathogens is routinely performed for suspected pneumonia.
They identified 174 patients (age ≥18 years) with non–ventilator-associated hospital-acquired pneumonia in whom new or progressive radiologic pulmonary infiltrates had developed after 48 hours of hospitalization and who had two of the following criteria: fever or hypothermia, …