Direct costs in patients hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia after non-response to outpatient treatment with macrolide antibacterials in the US.

Introduction: Antibacterial cost-containment programmes emphasise the use of narrow-spectrum generic agents whenever possible. The use of these agents is driven by their lower purchase prices; the consequences of treatment failure are rarely considered. This study was conducted to identify the costs of treating patients hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) associated with Streptococcus pneumoniae following failure to respond to outpatient treatment with macrolide antibacterials.