Infectious Disease Pharmacist Breaks Down Pneumonia Types, Treatment Options

World Pneumonia Day is celebrated to bring awareness and support initiatives that strengthen health systems’ preventative measures for all types of pneumonia.¹ Before exploring the pharmacist’s unique role in supporting these initiatives, and being an authoritative provider in improving pneumonia outcomes, it’s important to understand the disease itself.

“There are 2 basic types of pneumonia,” Steve Leonard, PharmD, BCIDP, professor of pharmacy practice at Ohio Northern University, told Drug Topics. “There's going to be pneumonia that's community-acquired, and then there's going to be pneumonia that's health care or nosocomial-acquired. It's important to distinguish between the 2 because they're caused by entirely different pathogens and they're treated entirely differently."

In Drug Topics’ coverage of World Pneumonia Day on November 12, we caught up with Leonard to get insights on his knowledge as both a pharmacist as well as an infectious disease expert.

Part 1 of our interview explores the 2 main types of pneumonia and the treatment options often prescribed for patients experiencing the disease. Despite just 2 types for pharmacists and patients to understand, they vary significantly, ensuring much different diagnosis and treatment avenues for community-acquired pneumonia when compared with hospital-acquired pneumonia.

Learn from Leonard’s insights into pneumonia and pharmacists’ roles in managing the condition and stay tuned for more from our interview with Leonard as he helps us further celebrate everything World Pneumonia Day has to offer.

READ MORE: Pneumococcal Resource Center

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