Significance and prospective view of microbiological examination concerning the guidelines for pneumonia management

In Japan, the guidelines for the management of pneumonia in adults will be established in about tow years followed by Europe and the USA. The significance and prospective view of microbiological examination concerning the guidelines for pneumonia management in Japan are discussed here. Concerning the management of acute pneumonia, the differential diagnosis between bacterial pneumonia and atypical pneumonia is necessary, but the present system of microbiological examination using culture of microbials and antimicrobial susceptibility testing is time-consuming. A quick reporting system of sputum gram-staining and molecular diagnosis in microbiological laboratories will greatly contribute to the management of bacterial pneumonia and atypical pneumonia, respectively. This quick reporting system should be combined with automatic systematization of microbiological examination in laboratories in the future.