Traditional Chinese Medicine for Drug-Resistant Bacterial Pneumonia

This is a multicenter prospective observational cohort study of hospitalized adults with drug-resistant bacterial pneumonia. The study will compare patients who receive systemic traditional Chinese medicine treatment during routine clinical care with those who do not receive systemic traditional Chinese medicine treatment. Systemic traditional Chinese medicine treatment may include Chinese herbal decoctions, oral Chinese patent medicines, or Chinese medicine injections. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate whether systemic traditional Chinese medicine treatment is associated with a lower risk of lower respiratory tract infection events within 180 days after hospital discharge. Other outcomes will include mortality, rehospitalization, bacterial clearance, clinical cure at discharge, antibiotic use, pneumonia-related clinical scores, quality of life, inflammatory markers, imaging changes, safety indicators, and direct medical costs.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Hospitalized patients diagnosed with pneumonia. 2. Microbiological testing indicates that the isolated bacterial strain is resistant to at least one commonly used antimicrobial agent based on standard antimicrobial susceptibility testing. 3. The isolated bacterial strain is judged to be a causative pathogen rather than colonization or contamination based on clinical manifestations, imaging findings, microbiological results, and treatment response. 4. Age 18 years or older. 5. Willing to participate in the study and able to provide written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: 1\. Patients who are unable to complete data collection due to unconsciousness, dementia, impaired consciousness, psychiatric illness, or other conditions, and for whom relevant information cannot be obtained through a legally authorized representative or family member.