The association between empiric antimicrobial therapy and the risk of clinical failure in critically ill patients with aspiration pneumonia.

What Is Known And Object: Aspiration pneumonia is a clinically important infectious process that can result in increased morbidity and mortality. Empiric antimicrobial therapy with activity against anaerobes has been a standard practice based on previous studies, which isolated anaerobes from respiratory cultures. Recent studies have failed to identify anaerobes as causative pathogens, however, these studies did not assess patient outcomes based on the presence or absence of anaerobic coverage.