Treatment:

The objective of treatment is to cure the infection with antibiotics. An antibiotic is selected based on the specific germ detected by sputum culture. However, the organism cannot always be identified with tests, so antibiotic therapy is given to fight the most common bacterial organisms that infect hospitalized patients -- Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative rods.

Supportive treatment includes supplemental oxygen and lung treatments to loosen and remove thick secretions from the lungs.

Expectations (prognosis):

Most patients respond to the treatment and improve in 2 weeks. However, hospital-acquired pneumonia can be very severe and sometimes deadly.

Complications:

Elderly or debilitated patients who fail to respond to treatment may die from acute respiratory failure.