Abstract
In making a clinical diagnosis the many and varied presentations need to be borne in mind. An early chest X-ray can be of value in proving or disproving the presence of pneumonia, but identification of infective cause requires additional investigation and is not established until later. Both hospital physicians and general practitioners are therefore obliged to initiate antibiotic treatment blind, and a rational choice has to depend upon a pre-existing knowledge of possible causes, their likely incidence, and their antibiotic susceptibility. This pre-existing knowledge coupled with an awareness of illness course is the cornerstone of intelligent general practice management because the exigencies of general practice may sometimes preclude all investigation.
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Everett, M.T. (1986). Pneumonia. In: Selective Antibiotic Use in Respiratory Illness: a Family Practice Guide. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-1143-8_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-1143-8_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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