Management of severe community-acquired pneumonia in Brazil: a secondary analysis of an international survey.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate Brazilian physicians' perceptions regarding the diagnosis, severity assessment, treatment and risk stratification of severe community-acquired pneumonia patients and to compare those perceptions to current guidelines.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional international anonymous survey among a convenience sample of critical care, pulmonary, emergency and internal medicine physicians from Brazil between October and December 2008. The electronic survey evaluated physicians' attitudes towards the diagnosis, risk assessment and therapeutic interventions for patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia.