Treatment

The treatment of pneumonia is usually carried out by the so-called calculated antibiotic therapy. In this form of therapy, the exact pathogen is not known and is treated with a broad-spectrum antibiotic. An antibiogram is usually only prepared in severe cases, or if there is no improvement in the results under calculated antibiotic therapy.

After the start of antibiotic therapy, the results are usually improved within 3-4 days, and there is a significant decrease in productive sputum. The radiological signs of pneumonia usually persist for some time and can be detected even when the patient is already feeling better. Even the breathing sounds of the lungs can still be heard as moist rales after the subjective improvement of the findings.

The antibiotic treatment should be given for at least 10 days and can be prolonged accordingly if the patient does not yet show the expected improvement. It should also be considered that the germ has not been hit by the antibiotic if there is no improvement or even a deterioration of the general condition within 3-4 days. In this case, one should in any case prepare an antibioogram and change antibiotics.

In uncomplicated cases, the pneumonia is considered to be cured after 10 days of intensive treatment at the latest. However, complicated courses in immunocompromised or elderly patients with severe concomitant diseases can take considerably longer. The duration of complicated courses can quickly take 2-3 or even 4 weeks. It should be noted that the longer a course of pneumonia lasts, the higher the risk of further complications such as sepsis (blood poisoning).

This is how long you are in hospital with pneumonia

For each illness with hospitalization there are so-called case flat rates. Here the reimbursement is fixed by the health insurance company and there is a guideline value of the “length of stay of a patient in hospital” for each illness. This guideline value is not obligatory, but serves the hospital as an orientation and is indicated with a lower and an upper limit.

The average length of stay for an unspecified pneumonia is seven days; the upper limit of the length of stay is 13 days. Thus, most patients will spend between 7 and 13 days in hospital. However, special circumstances can ensure that this time is exceeded or even undercut.