[Utility of blood cultures on antibiotic therapy in adult bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia].

We evaluated the utility of blood cultures in the therapeutic management of patients with bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia admitted to an internal medicine unit, in a retrospective observational study. Forty-nine patients were included, 75.5% were men, mean age 51.1 years. All S. pneumoniae strains were susceptible to penicillin. Four patients died. In 15.5% the treatment was modified narrowing antibiotic spectrum, in 51% cases it was changed to bencylpenicillin or amoxicillin exclusively, but only in 16% within the first 4 days. In 12 cases the prescription coincided with the oral switch therapy to amoxicillin. Due to the benefits and potential advantages of penicillin in diminishing the incidence of antibiotic resistance and reducing costs, it is important to work on prescription habits among physicians. This is especially important in the case of penicillin and the opportune moment of therapy change, improving the use of the microbiological report.