This was a prospectively recruited cohort study conducted at Haukeland University Hospital, a tertiary care referral centre in Bergen, Norway between December 2nd 2019, and February 17th 2020. In addition to conventional microbiological diagnostics, samples from the lower respiratory tract were systematically analysed with a commercial rapid syndromic PCR panel, the FAP plus. The study was conducted as a feasibility study to inform the design of a larger randomised controlled trial evaluating the clinical impact of the FAP plus assay on antibiotic use and outcome (NCT04660084). Patients were eligible for inclusion if they were ≥ 18 years, presenting to the emergency department (ED) with a suspicion of CAP (evaluated by investigating physicians and/or study nurses) and fulfilling at least two of the following criteria: new or worsening cough; new or worsening expectoration of sputum; new or worsening dyspnoea; haemoptysis; pleuritic chest pain; radiological evidence of pneumonia; abnormalities on chest auscultation and/or percussion; fever (≥ 38.0 °C). Exclusion criteria were cystic fibrosis, severe bronchiectasis (defined as patients in need of regular follow-up and treatment by a pulmonologist due to bronchiectasis), hospitalisation within the last 14 days prior to admission, a palliative approach (defined as life expectancy below two weeks documented by a treating physician; either by preexisting estimates in the electronic journal, or estimations made at admission), or if the patient was not willing or able to provide a lower respiratory tract sample (by either sputum induction or endotracheal aspiration).
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