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Atypical pneumonia—time to breathe new life into a useful term?

The term atypical pneumonia was originally used to describe an unusual presentation of pneumonia. It is now more widely used in reference to either pneumonia caused by a relatively common group of pathogens, or to a distinct clinical syndrome the existence of which is difficult to demonstrate. As su...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Murdoch, David R, Chambers, Stephen T
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier Ltd. 2009
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7128881/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19628176
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(09)70148-3
Descripción
Sumario:The term atypical pneumonia was originally used to describe an unusual presentation of pneumonia. It is now more widely used in reference to either pneumonia caused by a relatively common group of pathogens, or to a distinct clinical syndrome the existence of which is difficult to demonstrate. As such, the use of atypical pneumonia is often inaccurate, potentially confusing, and of dubious scientific merit. We need to return to the original meaning of atypical pneumonia and restrict its use to describe pneumonia that is truly unusual in clinical presentation, epidemiology, or both.