Treatment recommendations for patients with common respiratory tract infections with variables indicative of treatment failure.

Treatment with an appropriate antimicrobial agent significantly decreases the bacterial burden and reduces the risk of a patient progressing to a more severe infection. When evaluating the use of antibiotics, practitioners should consider such factors as the local resistance patterns of common respiratory pathogens, the likelihood of infection with a resistant organism, and the potential for treatment failure. Recent antibiotic use is a risk factor for treatment failure.

Thin-section CT findings in flock worker's lung, a work-related interstitial lung disease.

Purpose: To characterize the thin-section computed tomographic (CT) features of flock worker's lung (FWL) and to determine whether these features may be used to distinguish workers with FWL from flock workers who do not fulfill diagnostic criteria for FWL.

Materials And Methods: Thin-section CT images obtained in 43 flock workers (including 11 with FWL) were reviewed independently by radiologists blinded to occupational and clinical details. CT features recorded included ground-glass opacities, consolidation, micronodules, reticular abnormality, and septal thickening.