Background: In adults, viral causes of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are poorly
characterised. The aims of this study were to characterise the viral aetiology of CAP in adults
by using an extensive array of viral diagnostic tests and to compare the characteristics of
viral pneumonia with those of pneumococcal pneumonia. Methods: Adults admitted to
Christchurch Hospital over a 1-year period with CAP were included in the study.
Microbiological testing methods included blood and sputum cultures, urinary antigen testing …

This study was a prospective observational study of all adult patients admitted to
Christchurch hospital in New Zealand from July 1999–July 2000 with the diagnosis of
communityacquired pneumonia (CAP). CAP was defined as an acute illness with
radiographic pulmonary shadowing that was at least segmental or present in one lobe, and
was neither preexisting or of known cause. Exclusion criteria included if pneumonia was not
the main reason for admission, was an “expected terminal event,” was distal to a bronchial …