The differential should include other causes of hemolysis, such as that found in non-immune hemolytic anemia including intrinsic red cell defects, hemolysis due to extrinsic factors (ie trugs or toxins) as well as mechanical damage hemolytic anemia as found in DIC and HUS.
The best initial antibiotic choice is thought to be a macrolide. Macrolides provide the best coverage for the most likely organisms in community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CAP). Macrolides have effective coverage for gram-positive, Legionella, and Mycoplasma organisms. Azithromycin administered intravenously is an alternative to intravenous erythromycin.
Use of antibiotics as a treatment strategy for pneumonia continued throughout the 1900s. However, widespread overuse of antibiotics led to the creation of penicillin-resistant strains of Streptococcus pneumonia, which was of great concern to the medical community.