A new scoring system has the potential to reduce the overuse of empiric antipseudomonal antibiotics in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), a new study found.

Researchers sought to evaluate the microbiologic patterns associated with risk factors for using empiric antibiotic therapy in patients with COPD who are hospitalized for CAP. The investigators conducted a secondary analysis of the Global Initiative for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia (GLIMP), an international, multicenter, observational, point-prevalence study of hospitalized patients with COPD and CAP, conducted between March 2015 and June 2015. GLIMP included immunocompetent patients with COPD who were hospitalized with CAP from 37 countries in all continents.

The secondary analysis of GLIMP involved 689 patients with COPD hospitalized for CAP (mean [SD] age, 72 (11) years; 67% male). Of those patients, 11% had very severe airflow limitation (forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1] ≤30%), 10% had bronchiectasis, and 5% had experienced a previous Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Read more here.