Predetermined and Inevitable Questions when Solving the Problem of Acute Pneumonia

Half a century has passed since the author of these lines, at that time a young aspiring surgeon, found himself in a situation that required not only extreme physical capabilities and endurance, but also extreme emotional stress. The situation in an industrial city with a population of more than half a million people and a large number of aggressive forms of acute pneumonia (AP) with high mortality rates forced healthcare leaders to take extreme, unprecedented measures. Patients with severe development of AP, immediately after the initial diagnosis was established, were sent to a surgical hospital, the profile of which was not related to this disease. Such a non-standard decision was made because here was the only opportunity to provide qualified resuscitation care to such patients, many of whom needed it.