 No significant difference appears in treatment success rates between linezolid , glycopeptides , or appropriate beta @-@ lactam antibiotics in the treatment of pneumonia . Clinical guidelines for the treatment of community @-@ acquired pneumonia developed by the American Thoracic Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America recommend that linezolid be reserved for cases in which MRSA has been confirmed as the causative organism , or when MRSA infection is suspected based on the clinical presentation . The guidelines of the British Thoracic Society do not recommend it as first @-@ line treatment , but rather as an alternative to vancomycin . Linezolid is also an acceptable second @-@ line treatment for community @-@ acquired pneumococcal pneumonia when penicillin resistance is present . 
