Pneumonia Panel

Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that may be caused by a variety of different bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens and can affect patients with normally functioning immune systems as well as those with underlying immune compromise. Pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide in individuals of all ages. In hospitalized patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia, multiplex molecular methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from lower respiratory tract specimens may be appropriate to determine etiology and inform treatment.