In-hospital mortality associated with community-acquired pneumonia is comparable to that with acute myocardial infarction.1 Patients with suspected community-acquired pneumonia require urgent assessment and therapy; however, overemphasis on time to first dose of antibiotics may lead to unnecessary administration of antibiotics for noninfectious diseases.2 Because of a lack of convincing evidence, guidelines no longer specify a four-hour window for starting antibiotics for patients who require admission to hospital but instead recommend that the first dose be given in the emergency department.2,3