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Uncomplicated cases of pneumonia can be treated in 1 to 2 weeks, but how long should it take patients to feel better? Surprisingly few studies have addressed this issue. A cohort of 535 adults with community-acquired pneumonia who had participated in a quinolone-treatment study in Canada completed questionnaires about persisting symptoms at 2 and 6 weeks after conclusion of antibiotic therapy.
Participants' mean age was 62; 54 percent were admitted to the hospital for treatment of their pneumonia. A minority had coexisting chronic illness, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 26 percent, asthma in 17 percent, and congestive heart failure in 12 percent. Most of the cohort were treated with quinolones, macrolides, or beta-lactam …