Radiographic Evidence Of Pneumonia Research Articles

Efficacy and tolerance of cefpodoxime proxetil compared with ceftriaxone in vulnerable patients with bronchopneumonia

This multicentre, randomized study compared the efficacy and tolerance of cefpodoxime proxetil and ceftriaxone in vulnerable patients with bronchopneumonia. Patients received cefpodoxime proxetil 200 mg bd orally or ceftriaxone 1 g daily im for a ten-day period. They were evaluated at days 10 and 30. Ninety-six patients were evaluated for tolerance, 85 for clinical efficacy and 65 for bacteriological efficacy. At entry all patients had radiographic evidence of pneumonia and 74% of bacteriological samples were positive. The percentage of overall success (cured or improved) was 97.7% (43/44) in the cefpodoxime proxetil group and 95.1% (39/41) in the ceftriaxone group. The bacteriological efficacy was 94.3% in the cefpodoxime proxetil group and 97.4% in the ceftriaxone group. Clinical tolerance was satisfactory in both groups. In this study, the clinical and bacteriological results obtained with cefpodoxime proxetil were comparable with those obtained with ceftriaxone in the treatment of community-acquired bronchopneumonia in patients with additional risk factors.

Microbiology of endotracheal aspirates in intubated pediatric intensive care unit patients

We studied the utility of Gram-stained smears and semiquantitative cultures of endotracheal aspirates (ETAs) in diagnosing pneumonia in intubated patients in a pediatric intensive care unit. The chest radiographs of 35 intubated patients were independently reviewed by a pediatric radiologist and classified into probable, possible and unlikely pneumonias. Concomitant bacteriologic and radiographic information was available in 15 episodes of probable and 13 of possible pneumonia. These findings were compared with the ETAs obtained during the study from patients with no radiographic evidence of pneumonia (N = 21). There was a good correlation between ETA findings and radiographic evidence of pneumonia when ETAs were obtained within 60 minutes of initial intubation. Only a growth of greater than or equal to 3+ of a pathogen was associated with probable pneumonia when ETAs were obtained more than 60 minutes from initial intubation. There was a poor correlation between the microbiologic findings from ETAs and the results of blood cultures and postmortem examinations. Moreover 5 of 10 pairs of ETAs obtained within 18 hours of each other demonstrated discordant results. The ETAs from patients with indwelling endotracheal tubes correlated poorly with radiographic findings and are of questionable value in diagnosing the presence of pneumonia or its etiology in this group. They must be cautiously interpreted in critically ill patients.

Pulmonary function following varicella‐zoster pneumonia in children with leukemia

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a cause of serious pneumonias in immunosuppressed patients. Although there are reports of residual lung changes in adults following VZV pneumonia, no previous studies of lung function in children following this infection have been done. We studied 11 patients (median age 11 years) who had had VZV pneumonia 1 to 16 years previously. All patients had a primary diagnosis of acute lymphocytic leukemia. Pneumonia was mild in most of the patients: Three had only radiographic evidence of pneumonia and required no supplemental oxygen, and seven required an FiO2 less than or equal to 0.4 for intervals for up to 11 days. One patient had severe pneumonia and required major ventilatory support. Three patients (27%) had significant restrictive defects on follow-up, with total lung capacity 62-69% predicted; and a fourth was abnormal at 1 month follow-up but normal at 16 months. No obstructive defects were noted, although RV/TLC ratios were elevated in three patients and volume of isoflow increased in three. Single breath diffusing capacity was reduced in two patients, but gas exchange was normal in all. No residual radiographic changes were present except in the patient who had severe pneumonia and increased lung markings at 2 months follow-up. All three patients with restrictive changes had other infections before or following VZV, including Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in two and recurrent, nonspecific pneumonias in the third. We conclude that VZV pneumonia had minimal residual effects on lung function in children with leukemia.

The air bronchogram: sonographic demonstration.

A new sonographic pattern of pulmonary consolidation associated with air-filled bronchi in children is presented. The consolidated area of the lung is usually hypoechoic, poorly defined, and wedge-shaped. The air-filled bronchi produce linear, high-amplitude branching echoes that converge toward the lung root. Posterior acoustic shadowing and reverberation artifacts are seen accompanying the proximal large bronchi. A comparative study is presented in which 30 pediatric patients with clinical and radiographic evidence of pneumonia were sonographically evaluated. Twenty-eight patients were successfully examined with sonography. The cases were divided into three groups: (1) consolidated lung without pleural effusion (19 patients); (2) consolidated lung with small pleural effusion (five patients); and (3) consolidated lung with partial compression atelectasis due to large pleural effusion (four patients).

Chlamydial pneumonitis induced in newborn guinea pigs.

One- to three-day-old guinea pigs were inoculated intranasally with the chlamydial agent of guinea pig inclusion conjunctivitis. Physical signs of infection included a marked increase in respiration rate on days 5 to 10 of infection and radiographic evidence of pneumonia on day 6. When animals were killed at various times after infection and lung tissue was examined by histopathology, evidence of pneumonia was found beginning on day 4 and lasting as long as day 12, with maximal pathological changes on days 6 to 8. The pneumonia was generally unilateral and consisted of an acute inflammatory component in the bronchioles with granulocytes in both the lumen and the wall of the bronchioles and an interstitial and intra-alveolar mononuclear infiltrate in the parenchyma of the lung. Chlamydial antigen was detected in the bronchial epithelial cells by immunoperoxidase staining, and the guinea pig inclusion conjunctivitis organism was isolated from lung tissue on days 6 to 9. No other significant bacteria were isolated from lung tissue or seen on gram stains of lung sections. Both immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G serum antibodies to the guinea pig inclusion conjunctivitis agent were detected as early as day 8 and reached peak levels on day 12. The infection was apparently self-limiting. This model presents the opportunity to investigate pathophysiological and immunological aspects of chlamydial respiratory infections in a neonatal animal.

TULAREMIA: A CHANGING PRESENTATION IN CHILDREN

Tularemia, a febrile zoonosis in children, has a changing clinical presentation. We reviewed 23 cases of tularemia in children at the Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH, 1975-1983); pediatric cases represented 28/71 tularemia cases in Arkansas in 1983 (39%, 9 at ACH). The demographic data revealed: 1) Age: 0-3 yrs - 5/23, 4-10 yrs - 11/23, and 11-19 yrs - 7/23 (8.2±4.5 yrs); 2) male - 72%; 3) white - 91%; 4) rural - 78%; and 5) season - summer (52%), spring/fall (30%), winter (13%). Transmission by a tick vector (65%), rabbit exposure (9%), other game animals (4%) and multiple exposures (4%). The types of tularemia included: ulceroglandular (35%), glandular (43%), oculoglandular (4%), pneumonic (13%), oropharyngeal (9%). Clinical features included: fever (91%, 103.5°F±1.4°F), lymphadenopathy (91%), pharyngitis (43%) and radiographic evidence of pneumonia (30%, 3/7 due to tularemia). The diagnosis was made by serology (87%), culture (4%) and history/physical (13%). There were no deaths and the most frequent morbidity was late lymph node suppuration (52%). Tularemia in Ark. has increased - 1978 (29), 1979 (42), 1980 (56), 1981 (54), 1982 (69), and 1983 (71). The major changes in tularemia include: 1) an increase in cases in children, 2) an increase in tick exposure over game animal exposure, 3) an absence of typhoidal tularemia, 4) a milder disease with no deaths, and 5) an increase in tularemia pneumonia in children.

Sporadic Cases of Legionnaires' Disease in the Netherlands

Sera of 24 patients with an unexplained pneumonia were tested for the presence of antibodies against the Legionnaires' disease bacterium. Fifteen patients had positive serology. The series comprised 12 male and three female patients ranging in age from 17 to 66 years (mean, 51.1 years). All of the patients had a high fever, little or no sputum production, and radiographic evidence of pneumonia. The radiographic abnormalities ranged from a patchy infiltrate to extensive consolidation. In eight patients with confirmed Legionnaires' disease, severe confusion was one of the most striking signs. A variety of antibiotics had no clear effect on the duration of the illness in these cases, although the severity seemed to be influenced. Two of the patients died, and in three the course was protracted. All cases were sporadic. Eight patients had been infected abroad and seven in the Netherlands, two of whom were on immunosuppressive therapy and were infected in a hospital.

An Outbreak in 1965 of Severe Respiratory Illness Caused by the Legionnaires' Disease Bacterium

In January 1977 an unsolved outbreak of infection at St. Elizabeth's Hospital (Washington, D.C.) that occurred in 1965 was linked with Legionnaires' disease. The link was made by fluorescent antibody testing with the bacterium isolated from tissues of persons with Legionnaires' disease in the 1976 outbreak in Philadelphia. In July and August 1965, an epidemic of severe respiratory disease characterized by abrupt onset of high fever, weakness, malaise, and nonproductive cough, frequently accompanied by radiographic evidence of pneumonia, affected at least 81 patients at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, a general psychiatric hospital. Fourteen (17%) of the affected patients died. Intensive epidemiologic and laboratory investigations in 1965 did not determine the etiology. The etiologic organism may have become airborne from sites of soil excavation.

Double-Blind Comparison of Cefamandole and Penicillin in Pneumococcal Pneumonia

We conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind comparison of intravenous penicillin and cefamandole in the therapy of pneumococcal pneumonia. Patients received either 1 g of cefamandole or 600,000 U of aqueous penicillin G every 6 h. Of the 100 patients entered into the study, 96 had clinical and radiographic evidence of pneumonia. Microbial etiology was determined from the results of sputum and blood cultures and/or sputum Gram stains. Streptococcus pneumoniae was pathogenic in 49 patients, of whom 24 received cefamandole and 25 received penicillin. There was no statistically significant difference in the response or cure rate. Of the 100 patients, 93 were treated for 3 days or more and were evaluated for adverse effects and toxicity. There was no significant difference between cefamandole-treated and pencillin-treated patients in the incidence of colonization, superinfection, phlebitis, thrombocytosis, decrease in hematocrit, or elevated liver function tests. Eosinophilia occurred more frequently in patients treated with penicillin (20 of 42) than in those treated with cefamandole (11 of 42 (chi square, P < 0.05). Only one patient receiving cefamandole developed a positive direct Coombs test. No patient in either group developed meningitis. We conclude that, with the doses and route of administration employed in this study, cefamandole is as effective as penicillin in the therapy of pneumococcal pneumonia without an increased incidence of colonization, superinfection, or adverse effects.

GRAM-NEGATIVE BACILLARY PNEUMONIA IN THE COMPROMISED HOST

The clinical and radiological characteristics of 217 consecutive episodes of gram-negative bacillary pneumonia occurring in 189 adult cancer patients between November 1968 and December 1974 were analyzed. The majority of patients had acute leukemia (54%). Fever larger than or equal to 101 degrees F was the single most common symptom and sign of the presence of infection (90%). Next in frequency were crepitant rales (65%), cough (41%), dyspnea (19%) and chest pain (18%). Radiographic evidence of pneumonia was found in 83% of cases and it consisted mainly of alveolar infiltrates involving both lung fields and predominantly the bases. Up to one-third of the patients had normal chestx-ray examinations at the onset of infection, though they subsequently became abnormal in 42% of them. The majority of patients (81%) whose initial chest x-rays did not reveal the presence of pneumonia were neutropenic (less than 1000 circumlating neutrophils/mm3). Klebsiella sp. and Pseudomonas sp. were the most common infecting organisms. The overall cure rate was 61%; 70% for Klebsiella sp. infections and 64% for Pseudomonas sp. infections. Pulmonary abscesses occurred in 14% of the cases. Cures were related to the antibiotic sensitivity of the infecting organisms and to the number of circulating neutrophils during the period of infection. Best results were obtained with the administration of gentamicin, the newer aminoglycoside antibiotic sisomicin, tobramycin and amikacin, or the combination of gentamicin with carbenicillin or with cephalosporins. Early and vigorous therapy of gram-negative bacillary pneumonia with appropriate antibiotics has improved the prognosis of this infection at our institution.

Frequency of Detection of Hemophilus influenzae Type b Capsular Polysaccharide in Infants and Children With Pneumonia

Countercurrent immunoelectrophoresis was used to detect H. influenzae type b antigen in sera of 65 consecutive infants and children with clinical and radiographic evidence of pneumonia. Antigenemia was observed in only one patient who also had H. influenzae type b bacteremia. Blood cultures from four other children were positive for H. aphrophilus (one), Streptococcus pneumoniae (two), and an alpha-hemolytic Streptococcus (one). The frequency of pharyngeal colonization with H. influenzae type b was similar in children with or without pneumonia. If H. influenzae type b was the cause of pneumonitis in the children studied, it occurred without bacteremia or antigenemia.