Study design
Multicentre cohort study, carried out in 4 hospitals in the Basque public network, which evaluated complications after one year in patients who had previously been included in a randomized clinical trial on the duration of antibiotic treatment in patients admitted for CAP. In the clinical trial intervention group, antibiotic treatment was prescribed for a minimum of 5 days and was suspended if for 48 hours the temperature was ≤ 37.8ºC and there was no more than 1 sign of clinical instability as defined by Halm’s clinical stability criteria (heart rate <100, respiratory rate <24, axillary temperature <37.2C, systolic blood pressure> 90, saturation and O2> 90%, good level of consciousness and tolerance of the oral route) 5. In the control group, the doctor decided on the duration of the antibiotic treatment. In a slight variance from established norms, the doctor him/herself chose the type of antibiotic. The follow-up period of the original clinical trial patients was 30 days, while the present study extended the follow-up period from 30 days to one year.
All patients were informed about the study and asked to give their informed consent. The project was approved by the Basque Country Ethics Committee (2011-001067-51).