Final answer:
Health care-associated pneumonia in hospitalized patients is often caused by opportunistic bacteria, with treatment depending on the specific pathogen.
Step-by-step explanation:
The most common causative agents of pneumonia in patients who have been recently hospitalized or in the hospital for more than 5 to 7 days include opportunistic bacteria like Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and various proteobacteria species such as Escherichia, Proteus, and Serratia.
These are typically classified as health care-associated pneumonia pathogens.
When it comes to treatment (Txt), the approach depends on the identified pathogen and might include specific antibiotics such as levofloxacin, especially when dealing with pathogens like Legionella pneumophila, which is known for being associated with contaminated water sources such as air conditioning systems.
For community-acquired pneumonia, caused often by Streptococcus pneumoniae, antibiotics like amoxicillin may be prescribed, but if the pneumonia is non-responsive, an alternative treatment plan is considered, possibly for an antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection or a different class of pathogens such as viral or fungal.