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Pneumonia Blog

Related terms: Bronchopneumonia, Community-acquired pneumonia

Blog (23)

Pneumonia May Lead to Serious Aftereffects for Seniors

Posted 23 Mar 2013 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, March 22 – Seniors who are hospitalized for pneumonia are at high risk for long-term physical and mental problems that can impair their ability to care for themselves, according to a new study. The study looked at data on about 1,400 adults older than 50 who survived more than 1,700 hospitalizations for pneumonia, heart attack or stroke. The effects of pneumonia were comparable to those seen in people who survive a heart attack or stroke, the researchers said. Patients who required hospital care for pneumonia – including those hospitalized just once during a nine-year period and those who did not require critical care – had a more than two-fold increased risk of a decline in mental abilities. The effects could be so severe that they led to disability and admission to a nursing home. The study also found that patients hospitalized for pneumonia had a nearly two times increased ... Read more

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Scientists Shed Light on Fungus Behind Deadly Pneumonia Strain

Posted 28 Dec 2012 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Dec. 28 – Researchers report that they've sequenced the genome of a fungus called Pneumocystis jirovecii, potentially laying the groundwork for new ways to treat a strain of pneumonia that can kill people with weakened immune systems. The strain is known as Pneumocystis pneumonia. First noticed among malnourished babies, it gained attention during the AIDS epidemic because it struck HIV-infected patients. It also strikes other patients whose immune systems don't work properly, such as those who receive organ transplants, are undergoing treatment for blood cancer or have autoimmune disorders. The sequencing of the genome revealed that the fungus is a parasite that must live within the human body to survive. "This has been quite an important finding which implied that human beings represent the reservoir of this pathogen," study co-author Philippe Hauser of the Centre Hospitalier ... Read more

Related support groups: Pneumonia, Pneumocystis Pneumonia

Sedatives May Raise Pneumonia Risk

Posted 5 Dec 2012 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 5 – People taking the widely prescribed sedatives known as benzodiazepines may be putting themselves at greater risk for developing pneumonia, British researchers report. Moreover, they may also face an increased risk of dying from the disease, the investigators added. Benzodiazepines such as Halcyon, Librium, Valium and Xanax are commonly prescribed for anxiety, epilepsy, muscle spasm and insomnia. "Our study calls into question the safety of benzodiazepine drugs in the context of infection," said study author Dr. Robert Sanders, a senior clinical research associate at the Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. "While further study is required, this initial analysis suggests that benzodiazepine exposure may increase the risk of developing pneumonia or dying from pneumonia," he said. Sanders ... Read more

Related support groups: Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan, Valium, Clonazepam, Lorazepam, Alprazolam, Diazepam, Pneumonia, Temazepam, Restoril, Xanax XR, Oxazepam, Librium, Halcion

Postoperative Program Prevents Respiratory Complications: Study

Posted 4 Oct 2012 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Oct. 4 – A simple and inexpensive program can reduce the risk of life-threatening and costly respiratory complications that are common after surgery, according to a new study. Pneumonia and ventilator dependency are among the most common complications that occur after surgery. A postoperative pulmonary program called I COUGH reduces those risks, researchers found. I COUGH stands for: incentive spirometry; coughing/deep breathing; oral care; understanding (patient and staff education); getting out of bed at least three times daily; head of bed elevation. The program was developed by a team at the Boston University School of Medicine and assessed for one year at the Boston University Medical Center. I COUGH reduced the risk of pneumonia, unplanned intubation and blood clots after surgery. The study was to be presented Oct. 4 at the American College of Surgeons' annual Clinical ... Read more

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High Blood Sugar May Make Pneumonia Deadlier

Posted 30 May 2012 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, May 30 – Elevated blood sugar levels may help predict death in pneumonia patients, researchers say. The new study included nearly 6,900 patients, average age 60, with community-acquired pneumonia who were admitted to hospitals and private practices in Austria, Germany and Switzerland between 2003 and 2009. Community-acquired pneumonia, one of the leading infectious diseases in industrialized nations, is a major cause of illness and death, according to background information in the study published online May 29 in the journal BMJ. Compared to patients with normal glucose levels at admission, those with elevated levels had a higher risk of death within 28 and 90 days. The higher a patient's glucose levels, the greater the risk of death, the investigators said in a journal news release. The death rate within 90 days was 3 percent for patients without diabetes and normal glucose ... Read more

Related support groups: Diabetes, Type 2, Pneumonia

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

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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

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

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