Bacterial Pneumonia: Old Habits and New Approaches

Pneumonia occurs when a person's lungs become inflamed and filled with fluid as a result of infection by bacteria, viruses or fungi. Though treatment protocols have significantly advanced since the Great Pandemic of 1918 -- when mortality rates were 320 times those of today -- pneumonia is still the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. Norman Rizk, MD, professor of medicine, discusses some of the current challenges in diagnosis and treatment, including the issue of drug-resistant bacteria and the prevalence of hospital-acquired pneumonia.