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Pneumonia Blog

Related terms: Bronchopneumonia, Community-acquired pneumonia

Blog (17)

Could Statins Help Prevent Pneumonia?

Posted 19 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, March 19 – Statin drugs, which are used to lower cholesterol, might reduce a bit the risk of developing pneumonia, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed data from a large international study that looked at the efficacy of rosuvastatin (Crestor) in preventing heart disease. The trial included almost 18,000 adults aged 50 or older who had no history of heart disease or diabetes. Participants were randomly selected to receive Crestor or an inactive placebo. "These data from a major randomized trial support the hypothesis that statin treatment may be associated with a modest protective effect against some infections," said lead researcher Dr. Victor Novack, head of the Clinical Research Center at Soroka University Medical Center in Israel. "We consider this analysis to be an additional step toward a definite trial that will specifically investigate the statin effect on ... Read more

Health Tip: Recovering From Pneumonia

Posted 30 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

-- Pneumonia can be a life-threatening infection, and no matter how severe your case is, your body needs time to heal. The U.S. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute suggests how to recover from pneumonia: Get plenty of rest. Follow your doctor's treatment plan. Take all medications as directed, and always finish any antibiotic prescription. Talk to your doctor about any necessary follow-up care. Read more

Related support groups: Pneumonia

Doctors in a Bind When Parents Want to Delay, Skip Vaccines

Posted 28 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Nov. 28 – Mistrust of childhood vaccines is causing some parents to request "alternative" schedules from doctors, either delaying or skipping some shots. And a new study suggests that most pediatricians are willing to go along with these requests – up to a point. "Parents seem to be regularly requesting alternative childhood immunization schedules," noted co-author Dr. Douglas John Opel, an acting assistant professor in the University of Washington's department of pediatrics. However, he added, "there needs to be more research into the effectiveness and safety of these schedules." The report is published in the Nov. 28 online edition of Pediatrics. The issue of parents ignoring standard guidelines on childhood vaccination schedules is worrying to many experts. One study, published in the November issue of Pediatrics, found that more than one in 10 parents in the United States ... Read more

Pneumonia Most Common Infection After Heart Surgery

Posted 15 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Nov. 15 – Pneumonia is the most common infection following heart surgery, a new study shows. The researchers also revealed that most infections occur about two weeks after an operation – a week longer than previously thought. They are slated to present their findings Tuesday at the American Heart Association (AHA) annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. "It's not what we expected to find," study author Dr. Michael Acker, chief of cardiovascular surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in Philadelphia, said in an AHA news release. After examining more than 5,100 heart surgery patients, whose average age was 64, the researchers found a total of 742 infections. Of these, 278 infections were considered serious, including an intestinal infection known as C. difficile colitis, which affected 1 percent of patients. Bloodstream infections occurred in 0.7 percent of the ... Read more

Related support groups: Pneumonia, Cardiothoracic Surgery

Globally, 2 Million Deaths a Year Linked to Smoky Stoves

Posted 13 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Oct. 13 – Smoky, inefficient indoor cooking and heating stoves that are widely used by people in developing nations contribute to 2 million deaths a year, according to health experts. Indoor air pollution from these stoves affects about 3 billion people, or nearly half the world's population, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists wrote in a commentary published in the current issue of the journal Science. The biomass (wood, crop residues, charcoal or dung) or coal fuel used in these stoves fills homes with dense smoke and blackens walls and ceilings, increasing the risk of health problems such as pneumonia, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the scientists explained. Women and children are at greatest risk for health damage caused by these stoves because they're at home most of the time while men typically leave during the day. In ... Read more

Related support groups: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Pneumonia, Lung Cancer

Vaccinations Aren't Just for Kids

Posted 16 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Sept. 16 – Public health experts often focus immunization awareness efforts toward protecting children, and with good reason: Facing a potentially bewildering schedule of vaccinations for their young ones, parents usually need all the help they can get. But vaccinations aren't just kid stuff. Medical science is creating an increasing number of immunizations targeted at adults, to help them avoid life-threatening diseases in middle-age and opportunistic infections when they're older. "Immunization is a life-long issue that we need to pay a lot of attention to," said Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. Some adult vaccinations are very well-known, like the annual shot that aims to prevent the spread of influenza. "You need an influenza shot every year," Benjamin said. "Part of that is because the virus changes every year, ... Read more

Novel Virus 'Jumped' From Monkeys to Humans, Researchers Find

Posted 14 Jul 2011 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, July 14 – A novel version of a virus responsible for many well-known illnesses in humans and animals has managed to jump from one species and spark infection in another, according to researchers. This "jumping" virus is from the adenovirus family, responsible for the common cold, croup, pneumonia and many other illnesses in humans. Until now – unlike other types of viruses – these particular germs have not been thought capable of cross-species transmission. The finding stems from a high-tech investigation of a 2009 California laboratory outbreak that ravaged a population of New World titi research monkeys. The never-before-seen virus that caused a high rate of death among the primates is the same virus that sickened a lab researcher who had come into direct contact with the infected animals, the scientists reported. And once the virus migrated to a human host, it continued ... Read more

Related support groups: Pneumonia, Cold Symptoms, Croup

Corticosteroids May Speed Pneumonia Recovery in Some

Posted 1 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, May 31 – Patients with an inflammatory lung condition known as community-acquired pneumonia appear to recover faster when treated with corticosteroids in addition to the standard regimen of antibiotics, Dutch researchers say. Those treated with a combination of corticosteroids and antibiotics also required a shorter hospital stay than patients treated with antibiotics alone, the study authors found. The observations stem from what is believed to be the largest study to date focused on the potential of corticosteroids for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia, or CAP. Dr. Sabine Meijvis, from the St. Antonius Hospital in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands, and colleagues reported their findings in the May 31 online edition of The Lancet. Meijvis and her team noted that, currently, CAP is typically treated with antibiotics following an early diagnosis. To explore whether ... Read more

Pneumonia Death Rate Lower Among People Who Take Statins

Posted 5 Apr 2011 by Drugs.com

LONDON, 5 April 2011-LSHTM study finds evidence for protective effect of cholesterol-lowering medication Taking statins could help prevent people dying from pneumonia, according to a study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The researchers found that the risk of death in the six month period after diagnosis of pneumonia was substantially lower among those who were already receiving the cholesterol-lowering drugs compared with those who were not. Previous studies have suggested that statins may be associated with a more favourable outcome after bacterial infection. This study, published online in the BMJ today, supports a possible protective effect of statins against mortality in patients with pneumonia. But the researchers point out that as they looked at patients who were already taking the medication when they developed pneumonia, a randomised clinical trial is ... Read more

For Young Kids With Pneumonia, Timing of Antibiotic Critical: Study

Posted 1 Apr 2011 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, March 31 – Correct and rapid antibiotic treatment is crucial for critically ill young children with bacterial pneumonia, says a new study. Even a few hours' delay can lead to a longer hospital stay, said Dr. Jennifer A. Muszynski of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. She and her colleagues looked at 45 infants and children, median age 17 months, who had severe bacterial pneumonia and required mechanical ventilation. Children with viral pneumonia or hospital-acquired pneumonia were not included in the study. The study appears in the April issue of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. Doctors treating children with bacterial pneumonia have to decide quickly about antibiotic treatment and base their selection of an antibiotic on the likely cause of infection. In the meantime, tests are performed to determine if the chosen antibiotic will be effective. If it ... Read more

Related support groups: Pneumonia

Steroid May Help Cut Pneumonia Risk After Brain Trauma

Posted 22 Mar 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, March 22 – The serious and sometimes deadly risk that hospitalized traumatic brain injury patients will develop pneumonia can be reduced by pre-treatment with the steroid hydrocortisone, new French research suggests. Pneumonia is a looming threat for trauma patients. In fact, "the overall rate of post-traumatic pneumonia reaches an incidence of 40 percent to 60 percent, mainly in patients with traumatic brain injury," the study authors noted in the report published in the March 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Early post-traumatic pneumonia increases the duration of mechanical ventilation, hospitalization and risk of death. Thus, prevention of post-trauma pneumonia is a major clinical and economical issue," according to background information in the study. "Both experimental and clinical data suggest that corticosteroid use may decrease the ... Read more

Study Questions Safety of Pneumonia Treatment Guidelines

Posted 20 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 19 – Intensive care patients who may be infected with strains of pneumonia that are resistant to many drugs may be more likely to die if current treatment guidelines are followed, a new study suggests. The findings highlight the need to reassess the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) guidelines, said the researchers. Current guidelines call for immediate antibiotic treatment – before culture results are known – of patients at risk for multiple drug-resistant (MDR) infection. The guidelines state that patients should receive a regimen of three antibiotics: two drugs against so-called Gram-negative pathogens and one drug against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. The logic in this approach is that at least one drug should be active against any likely infectious agent. However, several studies ... Read more

Related support groups: Pneumonia

FDA Approves Teflaro for Bacterial Infections

Posted 1 Nov 2010 by Drugs.com

SILVER SPRING, Md., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Teflaro (ceftaroline fosamil), an injectable antibiotic to treat adults with community acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI), including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Teflaro is an antibacterial agent in a class of drugs known as cephalosporins, which act by interfering with the bacterial cell wall. CABP is a bacterial infection that develops in the lungs of patients who are exposed to the bacteria in their normal environment, and not in the hospital. ABSSSI is a bacterial infection of skin and skin structures that requires antibiotic treatment and may require surgical treatment. MRSA is a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics. These antibiotics include methicillin and ... Read more

Related support groups: Pneumonia, Skin and Structure Infection

Prior Hospitalization With Pneumonia Often Tied to Later Misdiagnosis

Posted 22 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Oct. 22 – Misdiagnosis of pneumonia is common among patients readmitted to the hospital shortly after a hospitalization for the same illness, according to two companion studies. These misdiagnoses result in the overuse of antibiotics and increased health care costs, said the researchers at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. They examined the medical records of 127 patients who were diagnosed with pneumonia and readmitted within 30 days of a hospital discharge. Of this group, they found that 92 patients – or about 72 percent – were misdiagnosed with pneumonia upon readmission. Among the other findings: Blacks were more than twice as likely as whites to be misdiagnosed with pneumonia. Smokers and patients with lung disease were likely to be misdiagnosed. About 72 percent of misdiagnoses occurred in the emergency department. Less than 33 percent of the patients had any ... Read more

Related support groups: Pneumonia

Almost Half of Deaths in Kids Under 5 Occur in 5 Countries

Posted 12 May 2010 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, May 11 – Infectious diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and blood poisoning account for more than two-thirds of the 8.8 million annual deaths in kids under 5 years of age worldwide, a new report shows. Other leading causes of death for children include birth complications, lack of oxygen during birth and congenital defects. The authors of the report found that infectious diseases caused 5.97 million deaths among kids under age 5 in 2008. Pneumonia (18 percent), diarrhea (15 percent) and malaria (8 percent) accounted for the highest numbers. About 40 percent of the deaths were in infants aged no more than 27 days. Almost half of these deaths occurred in just five countries – China, Nigeria, India, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Pakistan. Africa (4.2 million) and Southeast Asia (2.39 million) accounted for the highest numbers of deaths. Countries with high ... Read more

Related support groups: Diarrhea, Pneumonia, Malaria, Septicemia

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Pneumocystis Pneumonia, Pneumonia with Cystic Fibrosis, Streptococcal Pneumonia, Pleuropulmonary Infection

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