Two Biomarkers Improve CRB-65 Predictability for Death Due to Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Augmenting CRB-65 (confusion, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and age 65 or older) score with troponin T high-sensitive (TnT-hs) and procalcitonin (PCT) help to predict death or intensive care unit (ICU) admission of patients... read more

The predictive value of LAR for determining the need for ICU admission among hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia

In this study, lactate-to-albumin ratio (LAR) was found to be a good predictor of ICU admissions in hospitalized patients with CAP and was non-inferior to PSI or CURB-65 scores. LAR was found to be a good predictor of... read more

Influenza-Complicated Thromboembolism in the ICU

Influenza-complicated thromboembolism (TE) among patients with severe influenza infection in the intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with increased risk for longer- duration mechanical ventilation, longer ICU stays, and... read more

Optimal Antibiotic Treatment Duration of Upper and Lower Respiratory Tract Infections

The available evidence for non-ICU community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) supports a short-course treatment duration of 5 days in patients who have clinically improved. Efforts... read more

Can Clinicians Identify CAP on Ultralow-dose CT?

This study found that clinicians could assess chest ULD-CTs for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) with high, but not perfect, diagnostic accuracy using an ED radiologist’s assessments as reference standard. Interrater... read more

The Easiest Way to Reduce Antibiotic Resistance Might be Shorter Duration

Antibiotic stewardship garners a lot of attention these days, but we face unique challenges to execute guidelines successfully given that we write more than 13 million antibiotic prescriptions every year in EDs. Variations... read more

Adjunctive Intravenous Then Oral Vitamin C for CAP Patients

Adjunctive Intravenous Then Oral Vitamin C for CAP Patients

Patients hospitalised with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) have low peripheral blood vitamin C concentrations and limited antioxidant capacity. The feasibility of a trial of vitamin C supplementation to improve patient... read more

Lopinavir-ritonavir and Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 Patients

Lopinavir-ritonavir and Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 Patients

Recent trials involving steroids and other immunomodulators have shown benefits and contributed to improved care. Given the emerging nature of the virus, several repurposed agents were also considered as potential antiviral... read more

Procalcitonin-guided Antibiotic Treatment Effect on Mortality in Acute Respiratory Infections

Procalcitonin-guided Antibiotic Treatment Effect on Mortality in Acute Respiratory Infections

Use of procalcitonin to guide antibiotic treatment in patients with acute respiratory infections reduces antibiotic exposure and side-effects, and improves survival. Widespread implementation of procalcitonin protocols... read more

Incidence of Arrhythmia Higher in COVID-19 vs. Other CAPs

Incidence of Arrhythmia Higher in COVID-19 vs. Other CAPs

The incidence of arrhythmia was higher in COVID-19 than in other community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), with 2 out of 10 COVID-19 patients dying after developing arrhythmia. Higher incidence rates of conduction disorders... read more

The Clinical Utility of MRSA Nasal Screening to Rule Out MRSA Pneumonia

The Clinical Utility of MRSA Nasal Screening to Rule Out MRSA Pneumonia

Nares screening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) had a high specificity and NPV for ruling out MRSA pneumonia, particularly in cases of CAP/HCAP. Based on the NPV, MRSA nares screening is a valuable... read more

Validation of Sputum Gram Stain for Treatment of CAP and HCAP

Validation of Sputum Gram Stain for Treatment of CAP and HCAP

The usefulness of sputum Gram stain in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is controversial. There has been no study to evaluate the diagnostic value of this method in patients with healthcare-associated pneumonia... read more

Prediction Model for Severe CAP among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

Prediction Model for Severe CAP among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes is an independent risk factor for the development of severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and associated with pneumonia-related hospitalization as well as mortality. Here, we assessed several selected biomarkers... read more

Antibiotic Therapy for Severe CAP in the ICU

Antibiotic Therapy for Severe CAP in the ICU

Researchers have assessed the impact antibiotic therapy on short (hospital) and long-term (6 months) outcomes of ICU patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia. Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains one of the... read more

Corticosteroids for Treating Pneumonia

Corticosteroids for Treating Pneumonia

Pneumonia remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States.1 There is both theoretical and laboratory evidence that corticosteroids may have beneficial effects in pneumonia through local pulmonary and... read more

Validation and Clinical Implications of the IDSA/ATS Minor Criteria for Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Validation and Clinical Implications of the IDSA/ATS Minor Criteria for Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia

These findings support the use of the IDSA/ATS minor criteria to predict hospital mortality and guide ICU admission in inpatients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) who do not require emergency mechanical ventilation... read more

Initial Inflammatory Profile in Community-acquired Pneumonia Depends on Time since Onset of Symptoms

Initial Inflammatory Profile in Community-acquired Pneumonia Depends on Time since Onset of Symptoms

Time since symptom onset modifies the systemic inflammatory profile at Community-acquired Pneumonia (CAP) diagnosis. This information has relevant clinical implications for management, and it should be taken into account... read more