Episodes Of Community-acquired Pneumonia Research Articles

Biomarkers troponin and procalcitonin in addition to CRB-65 enhance risk stratification in patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains a leading cause of infectious disease mortality globally, necessitating intensive care unit (ICU) admission for ∼10% of hospitalised patients. Accurate prediction of disease severity facilitates timely therapeutic interventions. Our study aimed to enhance the predictive capacity of the clinical CRB-65 score by evaluating eight candidate biomarkers: troponin T high-sensitive (TnT-hs), procalcitonin (PCT), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, angiopoietin-2, copeptin, endothelin-1, lipocalin-2 and mid-regional pro-adrenomedullin. We utilised a machine-learning approach on 800 samples from the German CAPNETZ network (competence network for CAP) to refine risk prediction models combining these biomarkers with the CRB-65 score regarding our defined end-point: death or ICU admission during the current CAP episode within 28 days after study inclusion. Elevated levels of biomarkers were associated with the end-point. TnT-hs exhibited the highest predictive performance among individual features (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, AUC=0.74), followed closely by PCT (AUC=0.73). Combining biomarkers with the CRB-65 score significantly improved prediction accuracy. The combined model of CRB-65, TnT-hs and PCT demonstrated the best balance between high predictive value and parsimony, with an AUC of 0.77 (95% CI: 0.72-0.82), while CRB-65 alone achieved an AUC of 0.67 (95% CI: 0.64-0.73). Our findings suggest that augmenting the CRB-65 score with TnT-hs and PCT enhances the prediction of death or ICU admission in hospitalised CAP patients. Validation of this improved risk score in additional CAP cohorts and prospective clinical studies is warranted to assess its broad clinical utility.

Hospital Burden of All-Cause Pneumonia and Nonbacteremic Pneumococcal Pneumonia in Adults in France Between 2013 and 2019.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The study objective was to describe the hospital burden of pneumonia in the adult population in France. This retrospective study was conducted from the National Health Insurance Database. All hospitalizations for pneumonia (all-cause) between 2013 and 2019 were included. Different risk categories for patients were established based on pneumococcal vaccine recommendations by French health authorities. A total of 2 199 240 episodes of CAP were registered over the study period (annual mean, 314 177 [standard deviation, 17 818.6]); 75% occurred in patients aged ≥65 years, among whom 47% were not classified in the moderate- or high-risk categories recommended for French pneumococcal vaccination. The incidence of CAP increased with age (117.9, 395.3, and 1916.7 per 100 000 for the age groups 18-49, 50-64, and ≥65 years, respectively, in 2019). Furthermore, being at risk of pneumococcal disease resulted in more severe outcomes, including longer episode duration (mean, 14 days in low-risk vs 17 days in high-risk patients) and higher risk of referral to critical care units (from 20% to 27%), of rehospitalization up to 180 days (from 39% to 67%), of in-hospital death (from 12% to 19%), and of 1-year mortality (from 26% to 49%). This study establishes the incidence of CAP in adults in France, describes the significant burden of disease, and highlights the need for better prevention policies.

Eosinophilia Is a Favorable Marker for Pneumonia in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) expressing eosinophilia experience slightly fewer episodes of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), than those without eosinophilia. However, the severity and burden of hospitalized pneumonia patients with COPD involving eosinophilia have not been assessed. We evaluated the differences in clinical characteristics between patients with CAP and COPD with or without eosinophilia by a post hoc analysis of a prospective, multi-center, cohort study data. Of 349 CAP patients with COPD, 45 (12.9%) had eosinophilia (blood eosinophil ≥300 cells/μL). Patients with eosinophilia had a lower sputum culture percentile (8.1% vs. 23.4%, p<0.05), a lower percentile of neutrophils (70.3% vs. 80.2%, p<0.05), reduced C-reactive protein levels (30.6 mg/L vs. 86.6 mg/L, p<0.05), and a lower pneumonia severity index score (82.5 vs. 90.0, p<0.05), than those without eosinophilia. The duration of antibiotic treatment (8.0 days vs. 10.0 days, p<0.05) and hospitalization (7.0 days vs. 9.0 days, p<0.05) were shorter in eosinophilic patients. The cost of medical care per day (256.4 US$ vs. 291.0 US$, p<0.05), cost for the medication (276.4 US$ vs. 349.9 US$, p<0.05), and cost for examination (685.5 US$ vs. 958.1 US$, p<0.05) were lower in patients with eosinophilia than those without eosinophilia. Eosinophilia serves as a favorable marker for the severity of pneumonia, health-care consumption, and cost of medical care in patients with CAP and COPD.

IJCM_103A: Cost Benefit Analysis Related to Community Acquired Pneumonia inpatients among Geriatric Age Group-A Study Conducted in A Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common acute infectious disease among elderly people, and is associated with high rates of hospital admission and mortality. Old Age and male sex are known risk factors for CAP among adults and many comorbidity are also risk factors for CAP, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, cancer, dementia, congestive heart failure, and liver function failure. Objective: This study aimed to estimate the economic burden of community- acquired pneumonia (CAP) among elderly patients in Berhampur, Odisha. In addition, the study evaluated the relationship between total treatment cost and CAP risk factors. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the IPD of MKCG MKCG Medical College of Berhampur in the period of September-November 2023. Purposive sampling was used and data was collected using semi structured questionnaire and analyzed by MS Excel 2017 Results: Among 348 are inpatient CAP episodes the mean ages were 63±8 years in outpatient group and 70±4 yrs in inpatient groups respectively. The Median treatment cost is Rs.3000/-INR per outpatient episode and Rs 10060/-INR per inpatient episode.Old patient, Male sex, Diabetes, Chronic obstructive Pulmonary Disease, liver dysfunction were associated with increased treatment cost. Conclusion: The economic burden of CAP might be decreased by reducing the number of hospitalizations for mild CAP and the incidence of severe CAP. Therefore, preventative care (e.g. oral hygiene or pneumococcus vaccination) is recommended for patients with related risk factors, such as male sex, older age, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Pneumonia Severity Index And CURB-65 Scores Are Poor Predictors For Long-Term Mortality In Hospitalized Patients With Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Introduction The Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) and CURB-65 scores are well-defined as tools to predict short-term mortality in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The role of these scores in predicting long-term mortality is not well-defined. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of PSI and CURB-65 as predictors of long term mortality in patients discharged alive after an episode of CAP. Methods This was a secondary analysis of the University of Louisville Pneumonia Study (ULPS) database. The PSI and CURB-65 were calculated at the time of hospital admission. For patients discharged alive, mortality was evaluated one-year after hospital discharged. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to determine the diagnostic performance of the PSI and CURB-65 in predicting long-term mortality. Results From a total study population of 6,870 patients, 1,744 (25%) patients died within one-year post discharge, and 5,126 (75%) patients were alive one-year post-discharge. Areas under the curve (AUC) for PSI was 0.72 and for CURB-65 was 0.66. Conclusion Even though the PSI is more accurate than CURB-65, both scores are weak predictors of long-term mortality in hospitalized patients with CAP. Future research studies are necessary to improve the prediction of long-term mortality in hospitalized patients with CAP.

Markers of Inflammation, Tissue Damage, and Fibrosis in Individuals Diagnosed with Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Pneumonia: A Cohort Study.

Previous studies have noted that persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) experience persistent lung dysfunction after an episode of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that inflammation during pneumonia triggers increased tissue damage and accelerated pulmonary fibrosis, resulting in a gradual loss of lung function. We carried out a prospective cohort study of people diagnosed with CAP and/or HIV between 2016 and 2018 in three clinical institutions in Medellín, Colombia. Clinical data, blood samples, and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) were collected at baseline. Forty-one patients were included, divided into two groups: HIV and CAP (n = 17) and HIV alone (n = 24). We compared the concentrations of 17 molecules and PFT values between the groups. Patients with HIV and pneumonia presented elevated levels of cytokines and chemokines (IL-6, IL-8, IL-18, IL-1RA, IL-10, IP-10, MCP-1, and MIP-1β) compared to those with only HIV. A marked pulmonary dysfunction was evidenced by significant reductions in FEF25, FEF25-75, and FEV1. The correlation between these immune mediators and lung function parameters supports the connection between pneumonia-associated inflammation and end organ lung dysfunction. A low CD4 cell count (<200 cells/μL) predicted inflammation and lung dysfunction. These results underscore the need for targeted clinical approaches to mitigate the adverse impacts of CAP on lung function in this population.

Cost of Pediatric Pneumonia Episodes With or Without Chest Radiography.

Despite its routine use, it is unclear whether chest radiograph (CXR) is a cost-effective strategy in the workup of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the pediatric emergency department (ED). We sought to assess the costs of CAP episodes with and without CXR among children discharged from the ED. This was a retrospective cohort study within the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State ED and Inpatient Databases of children aged 3 months to 18 years with CAP discharged from any EDs in 8 states from 2014 to 2019. We evaluated total 28-day costs after ED discharge, including the index visit and subsequent care. Mixed-effects linear regression models adjusted for patient-level variables and illness severity were performed to evaluate the association between CXR and costs. We evaluated 225c781 children with CAP, and 86.2% had CXR at the index ED visit. Median costs of the 28-day episodes, index ED visits, and subsequent visits were $314 (interquartile range [IQR] 208-497), $288 (IQR 195-433), and $255 (IQR 133-637), respectively. There was a $33 (95% confidence interval [CI] 22-44) savings over 28-days per patient for those who received a CXR compared with no CXR after adjusting for patient-level variables and illness severity. Costs during subsequent visits ($26 savings, 95% CI 16-36) accounted for the majority of the savings as compared with the index ED visit ($6, 95% CI 3-10). Performance of CXR for CAP diagnosis is associated with lower costs when considering the downstream provision of care among patients who require subsequent health care after initial ED discharge.

Incidence of community-acquired pneumonia among children under 5 years in Suzhou, China: a hospital-based cohort study

ObjectivesTo depict the seasonality and age variations of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) incidence in the context of the COVID-19 impact.DesignRetrospective cohort study.ParticipantsThe observational cohort study was conducted at Soochow University Affiliated...

Validation of risk scores for prediction of severe pneumonia in kidney transplant recipients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia.

Risk scores for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are widely used for standardized assessment in immunocompetent patients and to identify patients at risk for severe pneumonia and death. In immunocompromised patients, the prognostic value of pneumonia-specific risk scores seems to be reduced, but evidence is limited. The value of different pneumonia risk scores in kidney transplant recipients (KTR) is not known. Therefore, we retrospectively analyzed 310 first CAP episodes after kidney transplantation in 310 KTR.We assessed clinical outcomes and validated eight different risk scores (CRB-65, CURB-65, DS-CRB-65, qSOFA, SOFA, PSI, IDSA/ATS minor criteria, NEWS-2) for the prognosis of severe pneumonia and in-hospital mortality. Risk scores were assessed up to 48h after admission, but always before an endpoint occurred. Multiple imputation was performed to handle missing values. In total, 16 out of 310 patients (5.2%) died, and 48 (15.5%) developed severe pneumonia. Based on ROC analysis, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) and national early warning score 2 (NEWS-2) performed best, predicting severe pneumonia with AUC of 0.823 (0.747-0.880) and 0.784 (0.691-0.855), respectively. SOFA and NEWS-2 are best suited to identify KTR at risk for the development of severe CAP. In contrast to immunocompetent patients, CRB-65 should not be used to guide outpatient treatment in KTR, since there is a 7% risk for the development of severe pneumonia even in patients with a score of zero.

Vaccination as a tool for influencing the course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in patients with diabetes mellitus

Introduction. Repeated exacerbations play a leading role in the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), contributing to an increase in the number of hospitalizations, a decrease in ventilation function of the lungs, and an increase in deaths.Aim. To analyze the clinical efficacy of pneumococcal disease vaccine prophylaxis in patients with COPD in combination with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) during 5 years of follow-up.Materials and methods. The study included patients (n = 113) with COPD and type 2 DM. The main parameters for evaluating the effectiveness of vaccination were the number of COPD exacerbations, including severe, requiring hospitalization of patients, the incidence of pneumonia, the dynamics of the severity of shortness of breath using the Modified Medical Research Council questionnaire – mMRC, the volume of forced exhalation in 1 second (FEV1), the dynamics of changes in laboratory indicators and prognostic indices BODEX, e-BODE, DOSE, ADO, CODEX. Pneumococcal conjugate 13-valent vaccine was used for vaccinoprophylaxis.Results. It has been established that vaccination against pneumococcal disease in patients with COPD and type 2 DM allows not only to significantly reduce the number of COPD exacerbations (by 2.7 times), reduce the frequency of episodes of community-acquired pneumonia (by 8 times) and significantly reduce the number of hospitalizations, but also stabilize the main functional indicators of the respiratory system while maintaining clinical effectiveness during the 5-year follow-up period. The dynamics of prognostic indices in the group of vaccinated patients reliably confirms the effectiveness of pneumococcal disease vaccine prophylaxis programs and the survival rate of patients with a combination of COPD and type 2 DM.Conclusion. The results of the study confirm that the vaccine prophylaxis of pneumococcal infection significantly reduces the risk of such undesirable events as exacerbations of COPD, pneumonia, hospitalization, and allows to stabilize the course of not only COPD, but also concomitant type 2 diabetes mellitus and thereby improve the prognosis for patients.

Quality of antibiotic prescribing for pediatric community-acquired Pneumonia in outpatient care

BackgroundAntibiotics remain the primary treatment for community acquired pneumonia (CAP), however rising rates of antimicrobial resistance may jeopardize their future efficacy. With higher rates of disease reported in the youngest populations, effective treatment courses for pediatric pneumonia are of paramount importance. This study is the first to examine the quality of pediatric antibiotic use by agent, dose and duration.MethodsA retrospective cohort study included all outpatient/primary care physician visits for pediatric CAP (aged < 19 years) between January 1 2014 to December 31 2018. Relevant practice guidelines were identified, and treatment recommendations extracted. Amoxicillin was the primary first-line agent for pediatric CAP. Categories of prescribing included: guideline adherent, effective but unnecessary (excess dose and/or duration), under treatment (insufficient dose and/or duration), and not recommended. Proportions of attributable-antibiotic use were examined by prescribing category, and then stratified by age and sex.Result(s)A total of 42,452 episodes of pediatric CAP were identified. Of those, 31,347 (76%) resulted in an antibiotic prescription. Amoxicillin accounted for 51% of all prescriptions. Overall, 27% of prescribing was fully guideline adherent, 19% effective but unnecessary, 10% under treatment, and 44% not recommended by agent. Excessive duration was the hallmark of effective but unnecessary prescribing (97%) Macrolides accounted for the majority on non-first line agent use, with only 32% of not recommended prescribing preceded by a previous course of antibiotics.Conclusion(s)This study is the first in Canada to examine prescribing quality for pediatric CAP by agent, dose and duration. Utilizing first-line agents, and shorter-course treatments are targets for stewardship.

Retrospective cohort analysis of outpatient antibiotic prescribing for community-acquired pneumonia in Canadian older adults.

This retrospective cohort study is the first in North America to examine population-level appropriate antibiotic use for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in older adults, by agent, dose and duration. With the highest rates of CAP reported in the elderly populations, appropriate antibiotic use is essential to improve clinical outcomes. Given the ongoing crisis of antimicrobial resistance, understanding inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is integral to direct community stewardship efforts. All outpatient primary care visits for CAP (aged ≥65 years) were identified using physician billing codes between January 1 2014 to December 31 2018 in British Columbia (BC) and Ontario (ON). Categories of prescribing were derived from existing literature, and constructed for clinical relevance using Canadian and international guidelines available during the study period. Categories were mutually exclusive and included: guideline adherent (first-line agent, adherent dose/duration), clinically appropriate (non-first line agent, presence of comorbidities), effective but unnecessary (first-line agent, excess dose/duration), undertreatment (first-line agent, subtherapeutic dose/duration), and not recommended (non-first line agent, absence of comorbidities). Proportions of prescribing were examined by category. Temporal trends in prescribing were examined using Poisson regression. A total of 436,441 episodes of CAP were identified, with 46% prescribed an antibiotic in BC, and 52% in Ontario. Guideline adherent prescribing was minimal for both provinces (BC: 2%; ON: 1%) however the largest magnitude of increase was reported in this category by the final study year (BC-Rate Ratio [RR]: 3.4, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 2.7-4.3; ON-RR: 4.62, 95% CI: 3.4-6.5). Clinically appropriate prescribing accounted for the most antibiotics issued, across all study years (BC: 61%; ON: 74%) (BC-RR: 0.8, 95% CI: 0.8-0.8; ON-RR: 0.9, 95% CI: 0.8-0.9). Excess duration of therapy was the hallmark characteristic for effective but unnecessary prescribing (BC: 92%; ON: 99%). The most common duration prescribed was 7 days, followed by 10. Not recommended prescribing was minimal in both provinces (BC: 4%; ON: 7%) and remained stable by the final study year (BC-RR: 1.1, 95% CI: 0.9-1.2; ON-RR: 0.9, 95% CI: 0.9-1.1). Three quarters of antibiotic prescribing for CAP was appropriate in Ontario, but only two thirds in BC. Shortening durations-in line with evidence for 3 to 5-day treatment presents a focused target for stewardship efforts.

Community-Acquired Pneumonia Incidence in Adults Aged 18 Years and Older in Goto City, Japan: A Prospective Population-Based Study

Community-Acquired Pneumonia Incidence in Adults Aged 18 Years and Older in Goto City, Japan: A Prospective Population-Based Study

The epidemiology and healthcare costs of community-acquired pneumonia in Ontario, Canada: a population-based cohort study

ObjectivesThe aim of the present study was to determine incidence-based short- and long-term healthcare costs attributable to community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) from the healthcare payer perspective in Ontario, Canada.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective population-based matched cohort study of residents in Ontario, Canada using health administrative data. We identified subjects with an incident episode of CAP (exposed subjects) between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2014. The index date of each episode was based on the first inpatient or outpatient claim for pneumonia. Exposed subjects were matched without replacement to unexposed subjects from the general population using hard and propensity score matching on age, sex, income quintile, rural residence, comorbidities, and healthcare costs prior to index date. Attributable costs represented the mean difference in costs between the exposed subjects and their matched pairs.ResultsWe identified 692,090 subjects with at least one episode of CAP between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2014. Adults aged 65 years and older had the highest annual incidence rate of 50.1 episodes per 1,000 person-years, while adults aged 18–64 years and children (aged 0–17) had incidence rates of 12.9 and 24.7 episodes per 1,000 person-years, respectively. The majority of episodes involved care exclusively in the outpatient setting (92.6%), with most of these episodes involving a single physician visit. The mean attributable costs were $1,595 (95% CI: $1,572–$1,616) per outpatient CAP episode and $12,576 (95% CI: $12.392–$12,761) per inpatient CAP episode. Attributable costs were significantly higher for adult subjects and those with time spent in the intensive care unit. Alternative case definitions yielded different results, although demonstrated the same overall trends across groups.ConclusionCAP is associated with substantially increased acute and long-term healthcare costs compared to unexposed subjects. This study highlights the burden of CAP in both the inpatient and outpatient setting, and will serve to inform strategic healthcare planning for future interventions and healthcare programs.

Aetiology, clinical features, diagnostic studies, and outcomes of community-acquired pneumonia in kidney transplant recipients admitted to hospital: a multicentre retrospective French cohort study

ObjectivesTo assess the aetiology, clinical features, diagnostic studies and outcomes of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in a French cohort of hospitalized kidney transplant recipients. MethodsWe performed a retrospective, multicentre study in kidney transplant recipients admitted to ten French centres for CAP from January 2016 to December 2018. CAP discharge diagnoses were clinically and radiologically validated. We assessed a descriptive analysis of all confirmed CAP including medical ward and intensive care unit admissions. ResultsOne hundred sixty-five CAP episodes in 132 patients were included. Median time from transplantation to admission was 6.4 (interquartile range, 1.6–12.3) years, with corticosteroid exposure in 112/165 (67.9%) cases. Sputum culture was performed in 47/165 (28.5%) cases including 7/47 (14.9%) positive samples. Bronchoscopy was performed in 87/165 (52.7%) cases with pathogens identified in 39/87 (44.8%) cases. Microbiological studies led to identifying a respiratory pathogen in 64/165 (38.8%) CAP episodes including 11/64 (17.2%) polymicrobial cases. Among these 64 episodes, 75 microorganisms were identified; 46/75 (61.3%) were core respiratory pathogens and 29/75 (38.7%) were opportunistic or drug-resistant organisms including Pneumocystis jirovecii 9/75 (12%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 5/75 (6.7%), multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae 4/75 (5.3%), and Aspergillus 4/75 (5.3%). Patients required intensive care unit admission in 26/165 (15.8%) episodes, invasive ventilation in 20/165 (12.1%) cases, and 22/165 (13.3%) needed in-hospital dialysis. DiscussionCAP episodes occurred in kidney transplant recipients with a long history of immunosuppressive drug exposure. Diagnostic studies identified a microorganism in more than one-third of CAP episodes, including drug-resistant and opportunistic pathogens.

All-cause community acquired pneumonia cost by age and risk in real-world conditions of care in Spain

ABSTRACT Background Economic burden of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is recognized. Few studies have documented such burden in adults stratified by age, risk status, and by care setting. Spanish data available is scarce. Method A retrospective, multicenter study in seven regions of Spain (2017–2019) was conducted. Patients ≥18 years with a primary all-cause CAP episode diagnosis were identified. Episode-level variables included risk-stratum based on presence of an immunocompromising/chronic condition, age, number and length of hospitalized and outpatient episodes, and CAP-related healthcare costs/sick leaves were included. Results 7,108 episodes [mean age (SD): 59.2 (19.6), 50.42% male, 31.0% hospitalized] were analyzed. Low-risk group accounted for 47.7% of all CAP episodes, 31.5% moderate-risk and 20.8% high-risk. Pneumococcus was identified in 42.2% of cases. Mean CAP episode length was 22.9 days for hospitalized and 13.7 days for outpatient episode. Total healthcare cost for episode was higher in inpatient vs. outpatient: €3,955 vs. €511, p < 0.001, with higher sick leave cost (€3,281 vs. €2,632, p < 0.001), respectively. Conclusion CAP required hospitalization cost is high regardless of age or comorbidities for the Spanish NHS. Given that almost half of the patients in this study did not have traditional risk factors for CAP, better preventative strategies should seriously be considered.

Mediastinal Mass with Unusual Etiology.

Mediastinal Mass with Unusual Etiology.

Cost Effectiveness of Different Initial Antimicrobial Regimens for Elderly Community-Acquired Pneumonia Patients in General Ward.

PurposeThe cost-effectiveness of different guideline-concordant antimicrobial regimens for elderly patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) was rarely discussed. This study attempts to explore the most appropriate cost-effectiveness of guideline-concordant antimicrobial regimen for elderly patients with CAP in general wards.Patients and MethodsThis was a multicenter, retrospective, 4:2:1 matched study enrolling 511 elderly patients with CAP hospitalized in general wards. Two hundred ninety-two patients prescribed with β-lactam monotherapy (group A), 146 patients prescribed with fluoroquinolone monotherapy (group B) and 73 patients prescribed with β-lactam/macrolide combination therapy (group C). Clinical outcomes and medical costs were analyzed by χ2 test for categorical variables or Kruskal–Wallis H-test for continuous variables.ResultsThere were no statistical differences in imaging features, etiology and complications during hospitalization among these three groups. The rates of clinical failure occurrence, in-hospital mortality, 30-day mortality and 60-day mortality also had no significant differences among group A, B and C patients; however, the median length of stay (LOS) in group A patients was 12.0 days, which was significantly higher than that in group B and C patients (both 10.0 days, p<0.02). The median total, drug, and antibiotic costs for one elderly CAP episode in group B patients were RMB 10368.4, RMB 3874.8, and RMB 1796.3, respectively, which were significantly lower than those in group A and C patients (p<0.01).ConclusionNon-inferiority of clinical failure occurrence and short-term mortality was observed in different guideline-concordant antimicrobial regimens for elderly patients with CAP in general wards; however, the median LOS and hospitalization-associated costs for one elderly CAP episode with fluoroquinolone monotherapy were significantly lowest, and this strategy was considered to be the most cost-effective strategy in general wards.

Etiology of Clinical Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Swedish Children Aged 1-59 Months with High Pneumococcal Vaccine Coverage-The TREND Study.

(1) Immunization with pneumococcal conjugate vaccines has decreased the burden of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children and likely led to a shift in CAP etiology. (2) The Trial of Respiratory infections in children for ENhanced Diagnostics (TREND) enrolled children 1-59 months with clinical CAP according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria at Sachs’ Children and Youth Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. Children with rhonchi and indrawing underwent “bronchodilator challenge”. C-reactive protein and nasopharyngeal PCR detecting 20 respiratory pathogens, were collected from all children. Etiology was defined according to an a priori defined algorithm based on microbiological, biochemical, and radiological findings. (3) Of 327 enrolled children, 107 (32%) required hospitalization; 91 (28%) received antibiotic treatment; 77 (24%) had a chest X-ray performed; and 60 (18%) responded to bronchodilator challenge. 243 (74%) episodes were classified as viral, 11 (3%) as mixed viral-bacterial, five (2%) as bacterial, two (0.6%) as atypical bacterial and 66 (20%) as undetermined etiology. After exclusion of children responding to bronchodilator challenge, the proportion of bacterial and mixed viral-bacterial etiology was 1% and 4%, respectively. (4) The novel TREND etiology algorithm classified the majority of clinical CAP episodes as of viral etiology, whereas bacterial etiology was uncommon. Defining CAP in children <5 years is challenging, and the WHO definition of clinical CAP is not suitable for use in children immunized with pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.

CLINICAL FEATURES OF THE COURSE AND ASSESSMENT OF TREATMENT STRATEGY IN CHILDREN WITH BRONCHITIS

Respiratory diseases always account for a significant proportion of visits to the pediatrician or family doctor, and bronchitis is usually a frequent clinical manifestation of acute respiratory diseases. The doctor often faces the question of how to objectively assess the clinical picture of bronchitis, and now the assessment of respiratory symptoms is often based on criteria such as cough, shortness of breath or wheezing on auscultation. However, today there are practically no data on the severity of bronchitis in children depending on the above criteria. A cohort of 158 children with bronchitis was created at the pulmonology and allergology Department of the Municipal Medical Institution "Regional Children's Clinical Hospital" in Chernivtsi. The severity of bronchitis was assessed at the beginning and on the 3rd and 7th day of inpatient using the Bronchitis Severity Score (BSS). According to this scale, mild bronchitis was verified in 30 patients which formed the I clinical group, and 128 children had moderate bronchitis (II clinical comparison group). Aggressive inflammation of the bronchi in children with moderate inflammation of the bronchial tree compared with patients with mild bronchitis was accompanied 1.6 times more often by recurrence, a history of episodes of community-acquired pneumonia in 9.4% of patients, long-term inpatient treatment (odds ratio 2.6) and halving the duration of the outpatient treatment period. The study of clinical severity of bronchitis in children of the comparison groups made it possible to establish an increase in the chances of a more severe course of the disease on the 7th day of hospitalization in children with moderate bronchitis (odds ratio 4.8) with persistence of cough in 68.7% of children in this group (odds ratio 3.8). Evaluation of inpatient treatment tactics indicated the need to increase the volume of complex therapy in patients with moderate bronchitis relative to children with mild disease (odds ratio 12.0, relative risk 8.8), as well as increasing the risk of the need for antibacterial therapy (odds ratio 3.7, relative risk 2.8) and the appointment of intravenous antibiotics for more than 3 days (odds ratio 5.0, relative risk 1.1).