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Adv Exp Med Biol 2019 Apr 24. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

Department of Basic Sciences, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.

This seeks to determine the pathogens in respiratory specimens and blood serum obtained from children who present with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) diagnosed on the basis of clinical and radiological evidence. The study group consisted of 46 hospitalized children aged 1-11 years. The material for research consisted of pharyngeal swabs and samples of blood serum. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2019 Apr 15;19(1):322. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça (CISM), Rúa 12, Vila da Manhiça, 1929, Maputo, CP, Mozambique.

Background: Despite major improvements in child survival rates, the number of deaths due to diarrhea remains unacceptably high. We aimed to describe diarrhea-associated mortality and evaluate risk factors for death among Mozambican children with moderate-to-severe diarrhea (MSD).

Methods: Between December 2007 and November 2012, children under-five with MSD were enrolled in Manhiça district, as part of the Global Enteric Multicenter study (GEMS). Read More

J Int Med Res 2019 Mar 21:300060519834454. Epub 2019 Mar 21.

4 Department of Cardiology, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.

Tuberculosis is still the leading cause of pericardial disease in developing nations. A definite diagnosis of tuberculosis is usually relatively difficult, especially when its manifestations are not typical. We report a 19-year-old man who presented with chest obstruction, shortness of breath, edema of the lower extremities, and mild fever for 14 days. Read More

Emerg Med J 2019 Mar 6;36(3):148-153. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Background: Serious bacterial infections in young infants with bronchiolitis are rare. Febrile infants <1 month old with bronchiolitis often receive a lumbar puncture (LP), despite limited data for this practice and lack of clinical practice guidelines for this population. The primary objective was to investigate practice patterns in performance of LPs in the ED management of febrile infants aged ≤30 days with bronchiolitis. Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2019 Apr 27;63(4). Epub 2019 Mar 27.

Institute for Clinical Pharmacodynamics, Inc., Schenectady, New York, USA.

Plazomicin is an aminoglycoside with activity against multidrug-resistant Plazomicin is dosed on a milligram-per-kilogram-of-body-weight basis and administered by a 30-min intravenous infusion every 24 h, with dose adjustments being made for renal impairment and a body weight (BW) of ≥125% of ideal BW. A population pharmacokinetic analysis was performed to identify patient factors that account for variability in pharmacokinetics and to determine if dose adjustments are warranted based on covariates. The analysis included 143 healthy adults and 421 adults with complicated urinary tract infection (cUTI), acute pyelonephritis, bloodstream infection, or hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia/ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (HABP/VABP) from seven studies (phases 1 to 3). Read More

Adv Respir Med 2018 Dec 30. Epub 2018 Dec 30.

DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRICS. COMPLEJO HOSPITAL DE NAVARRA, C/ IRUNLARREA 3, 31008 PAMPLONA, Spain; INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACION SANITARIA DE NAVARRA IdisNa, c Irunlarrea, 31008 pamplona, Spain.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a common respiratory pathogen, especially in children, responsible for community-acquired pneumonia. Although, in most cases, infections caused by this bacterium follow a benign self-limited clinical course, cases of severe respiratory infections have been reported. We present two pediatric cases of necrotizing pneumonia due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Read More

Microb Pathog 2019 Feb 11;127:267-276. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Chemistry for Inorganic/Organic Hybrid Functionalized Materials, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, PR China. Electronic address:

Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) were synthesized biologically using leaf extract of Camilla japonica. The typical UV-visible spectral peak of CuO NPs was observed at a wavelength of ∼290 nm, which confirmed their successful synthesis. From scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analyses, the synthesized CuO NPs were found to possess spherical shape. Read More

Klin Lab Diagn 2018;63(1):51-54

The state budget institution of health care "The clinical center of prevention and struggle with AIDS" of the Minzdrav of the Krasnodar kraii, 350015, Krasnodar, Russia.

The purpose of study is the clinical laboratory characteristic of acquired acute cytomegalovirus infection in nonimmunocompromised adult patients. The sampling included 75 patients with acquired acute cytomegalovirus infection admitted to the specialized clinical infection hospital of the Minzdrav of the Krasnodar kraii. The verifcation of diagnosis was implemented using serological tests and polymerase chain reaction. Read More

Infect Drug Resist 2018 2;11:2141-2150. Epub 2018 Nov 2.

Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.

Background: Effective empirical antibiotic therapy for community acquired pneumonia (CAP), based on frequently updated data about the pattern of bacterial distribution and their antimicrobial susceptibilities, is mandatory.

Aim: To identify the bacterial etiology of CAP in adults and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns and to evaluate the response to initial empirical antibiotic therapy in an Egyptian university hospital.

Settings And Design: A cross-sectional hospital-based study. Read More

Front Microbiol 2018 9;9:2428. Epub 2018 Oct 9.

Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China.

Bacterial isolate X39 was isolated from a community-acquired pneumonia patient in Beijing, China. A phylogenetic tree based on genes and average nucleotide identity data confirmed that isolate X39 belonged to . The genome of X39 contained one circular chromosome and nine plasmids. Read More

Nano Lett 2018 10 1;18(10):6207-6213. Epub 2018 Oct 1.

Key Laboratory of Luminescent and Real-Time Analytical Chemistry (Southwest University), Ministry of Education, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences , Southwest University , Chongqing 400715 , P. R. China.

Inspired by the fact that chitosan is a representative constituent of the ectocellular structure of Cryptococcus neoformans and a typical biomaterial for improving drug oral absorption, we designed an elegant and efficient C. neoformans-targeted drug delivery system via oral administration. A chitosan-binding peptide screened by phage display was used as the targeting moiety, followed by conjugation to the surface of poly(lactic- co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles as the drug carrier, which was then incubated with free chitosan. Read More

Acta Vet Scand 2018 Sep 17;60(1):54. Epub 2018 Sep 17.

Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Ulls väg 26), 757 56, Uppsala, Sweden.

Background: One of the most common post-mortem inspection finding of sheep and lambs in Sweden, following routine slaughter is pneumonia and its prevalence is increasing. To our knowledge, the aetiology of pneumonia in lambs is not well-known for Swedish conditions. Chronic bronchopneumonia, also known as "atypical" or chronic non-progressive pneumonia, is a common disease worldwide, affecting lambs up to 12 months old. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2018 Oct 28;25(30):30191-30198. Epub 2018 Aug 28.

State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.

The propagation of antibiotic resistance is a challenge for human health worldwide, which has drawn much attention on the reduction of the resistance genes. To understand their occurrence during different treatment processes, in this study, four classes of antibiotics (tetracyclines, sulfonamides, quinolones, and macrolides), eight antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) (tetB, tetW, sul1, sul2, gyrA, qepA, ermB, and ermF), and two mobile elements (int1 and int2) were investigated in a typical pharmaceutical plant. The total concentrations of antibiotics were detected in the range of 2. Read More

Infect Immun 2018 11 25;86(11). Epub 2018 Oct 25.

Division of Bacterial, Parasitic and Allergenic Products, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

Pertussis is a severe respiratory disease caused by The classic symptoms of pertussis include paroxysmal coughing with an inspiratory whoop, posttussive vomiting, cyanosis, and persistent coryzal symptoms. Infants under 2 months of age experience more severe disease, with most deaths occurring in this age group. Most of what is known about the pathology of pertussis in humans is from the evaluation of fatal human infant cases. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2018 Jun;10(6):3609-3621

Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.

Background: Nearly one-third of the population worldwide is estimated to have latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), which represents a vast reservoir for a constant source of tuberculosis (TB) transmission. It has been suggested that cynomolgus macaques are less susceptible to () infection than rhesus macaques, we examined infection of Chinese cynomolgus macaques.

Methods: Eight Chinese cynomolgus macaques were infected with Erdman strain with a small [25 colony forming unit (CFU)] or large dose (500 CFU) via bronchoscopy. Read More

J Vis Exp 2018 06 28(136). Epub 2018 Jun 28.

Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Southern California; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, LAC+USC Medical Center.

Murine infection models are critical for understanding disease pathogenesis and testing the efficacy of novel therapeutics designed to combat causative pathogens. Infectious pneumonia is among the most common infections presented by patients in the clinic and thus warrants an appropriate in vivo model. Typical pneumonia models use intranasal inoculation, which deposits excessive organisms outside the lung, causing off-target complications and symptoms, such as sinusitis, gastritis, enteritis, physical trauma, or microparticle misting to mimic aerosol spread more typical of viral, tuberculous, or fungal pneumonia. Read More

Front Immunol 2018 4;9:1258. Epub 2018 Jun 4.

Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a rare genetic immunodeficiency, which is characterized by recurrent severe bacterial and fungal infections caused by a defect in phagocytic cells due to loss of superoxide production. The disease usually manifests within the first years of life. Early diagnosis allows therapeutic intervention to improve the limited life expectancy. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Jun;97(24):e10580

Department of Paediatric Emergency, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Chelsea, London.

We describe the unique case of a child with pneumonia presenting with acute scoliosis and abdominal pain, without any typical features of the disease.A 10-year-old girl presented to the emergency department on 3 consecutive days with right-sided abdominal pain. There were no associated features, in particular, no fevers or respiratory symptoms. Read More

Case Rep Pulmonol 2018 23;2018:8251967. Epub 2018 Apr 23.

Norton Thoracic Institute, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ, USA.

Pulmonary artery pseudoaneurysm (PAPA), an uncommon complication of pyogenic bacterial and fungal infections and related septic emboli, is associated with high mortality. The pulmonary artery (PA) lacks an adventitial wall; therefore, repeated endovascular seeding of the PA with septic emboli creates saccular dilations that are more likely to rupture than systemic arterial aneurysms. The most common clinical presentation of PAPA is massive hemoptysis and resultant worsening hypoxemia. Read More

Drugs 2018 Apr;78(6):675-692

Springer, Private Bag 65901, Mairangi Bay, Auckland, 0754, New Zealand.

Ceftazidime-avibactam (Zavicefta) is an intravenously administered combination of the third-generation cephalosporin ceftazidime and the novel, non-β-lactam β-lactamase inhibitor avibactam. In the EU, ceftazidime-avibactam is approved for the treatment of adults with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs) [including pyelonephritis], complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAIs), hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) [including ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)], and other infections caused by aerobic Gram-negative organisms in patients with limited treatment options. This article discusses the in vitro activity and pharmacological properties of ceftazidime-avibactam, and reviews data on the agent's clinical efficacy and tolerability relating to use in these indications, with a focus on the EU label. Read More

Indian J Crit Care Med 2018 Mar;22(3):162-167

Department of Community Medicine, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.

Context: Varicella pneumonia is a rare but a serious complication of chickenpox in adults. There is paucity of data on varicella pneumonia from India.

Aims: The aim of this study is to describe the clinical manifestations, hospital course, treatment, and outcome of adult patients with severe varicella pneumonia. Read More

J Innate Immun 2018 4;10(5-6):442-454. Epub 2018 Apr 4.

Many different species of gram-negative bacteria are associated with infection in the lung, causing exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis (CF), and ventilator-associated pneumonias. These airway pathogens must adapt to common host clearance mechanisms that include killing by antimicrobial peptides, antibiotics, oxidative stress, and phagocytosis by leukocytes. Bacterial adaptation to the host is often evident phenotypically, with increased extracellular polysaccharide production characteristic of some biofilm-associated organisms. Read More

Front Immunol 2018 5;9:338. Epub 2018 Mar 5.

Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

The activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase δ syndrome (APDS), also known as p110δ-activating mutation causing senescent T cells, lymphadenopathy, and immunodeficiency (PASLI), is a combined immunodeficiency syndrome caused by gain-of-function mutations in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) genes (encoding p110δ: APDS1 or PASLI-CD) and (encoding p85α: APDS2 or PASLI-R1). While the disease is clinically heterogeneous, respiratory symptoms and complications are near universal and often severe. Infections of the ears, sinuses, and upper and lower respiratory tracts are the earliest and most frequent manifestation of APDS, secondary to both respiratory viruses and to bacterial pathogens typical of defective B cell function. Read More

Med J Malaysia 2017 Dec;72(6):367-369

Hospital Langkawi, Department of Medicine, Kedah, Malaysia.

Pneumonia is primarily a disease that is usually managed medically with antibiotics. However, in rare cases it may progress to necrotising pneumonia, which is an uncommon but severe complication of bacterial pneumonia. This case illustrates a typical case of necrotising pneumonia complicated with parenchymal and pleural complication such as empyema, pneumothorax with possible bronchopleural fistula. Read More

Clin Chim Acta 2019 Feb 16;489:212-218. Epub 2017 Dec 16.

Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Bahia School of Medicine, Salvador, Brazil; Department of Pediatrics, Federal University of Bahia School of Medicine, Salvador, Brazil.

Background: Childhood community-acquired pneumonia is a common and potentially life-threatening illness in developing countries. We assessed the prognostic value of serum procalcitonin level upon admission on clinical response to antibiotic treatment.

Methods: Out of 89 patients, the median (IQR) age was 19(12-29) months and 60% were boys. Read More

J Infect Dis 2018 Jun;218(2):179-188

Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis.

Background: Recognition that coinfections are common in children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is increasing, but gaps remain in our understanding of their frequency and importance.

Methods: We analyzed data from 2219 children hospitalized with CAP and compared demographic and clinical characteristics and outcomes between groups with viruses alone, bacteria alone, or coinfections. We also assessed the frequency of selected pairings of codetected pathogens and their clinical characteristics. Read More

BMJ Open 2017 Nov 15;7(11):e019478. Epub 2017 Nov 15.

Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Objectives: Kenyan guidelines for antibiotic treatment of pneumonia recommended treatment of pneumonia characterised by indrawing with injectable penicillin alone in inpatient settings until early 2016. At this point, they were revised becoming consistent with WHO guidance after results of a Kenyan trial provided further evidence of equivalence of oral amoxicillin and injectable penicillin. This change also made possible use of oral amoxicillin for outpatient treatment in this patient group. Read More

Cell Physiol Biochem 2017 17;43(4):1603-1616. Epub 2017 Oct 17.

Department of Molecular Biology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.

Background/aims: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is dominated by chronic inflammation and infection of the lung resulting in lung destruction and early death of patients. The lungs of CF patients are characterized by a massive accumulation of neutrophils. It requires definition why these massive numbers of neutrophils fail to eliminate typical CF pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. Read More

Rev Med Suisse 2017 Oct;13(578):1732-1736

Clinique de médecine interne, Hôpital cantonal, 1708 Fribourg.

Legionellosis refers to the two clinical syndromes caused by Legionella : Pontiac fever, a benign febrile illness and Legionnaires'disease (or pneumonia). Clinically and radiologically, Legionnaires'disease presents itself as a « typical » pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumonia. Diagnosis is usually made by using urinary antigen testing. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2018 Jan;66(1):72-80

Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.

Background: Studies indicate that the prevalence of multidrug-resistant infections, including hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (HABP/VABP), has been rising. There are many challenges associated with these disease conditions and the ability to develop new treatments. Additionally, HABP/VABP clinical trials are very costly to conduct given their complex protocol designs and the difficulty in recruiting and retaining patients. Read More

Epidemiol Mikrobiol Imunol Fall 2017;66(3):133-139

The diagnosis of legionellosis, especially of its severe, life-threatening form, Legionnaires' disease, is complicated, primarily because of non-typical symptoms of the infection, not always dominating atypical pneumonia, and often a very dramatic septic course of the disease with multiorgan failures. The diagnosis of the acute phase of the disease can be established by the detection of Legionella antigen in urine and by PCR/real-time PCR detection of Legionella DNA in serum and lower respiratory tract and urine samples. Cultivation on specific media remains the gold standard, but this very demanding method is rarely used. Read More

Rev Mal Respir 2017 Nov 19;34(9):1007-1010. Epub 2017 Sep 19.

Service de pneumologie aiguë spécialisée et cancérologie thoracique, groupement hospitalier sud, hospices civils de Lyon, Pierre-Bénite, 69310 Lyon, France.

Introduction: Some strains of Staphylococcus aureus produce a toxin known as Panton-Valentine leukocidin. These strains notably cause a necrotizing pneumonia which is associated with a high mortality.

Observation: A 70-year-old woman presented with sub-acute onset dyspnea, low-grade fever, and hemoptysis after a trip to Dubai and New Zealand. Read More

J Ultrasound 2017 Sep 24;20(3):243-245. Epub 2017 Feb 24.

UOSD Ecografia Internistica, Università degli studi G. d'Annunzio Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.

A 36-year-old man was admitted to the emergency department of "SS Annunziata" hospital in Chieti complaining of a sharp chest pain arisen some hours before admission. On examination, the patient looked sweaty; his vital signs showed tachycardia and augmented breath rate; sinus tachycardia and normal ventricular repolarization were observed on ECG, and no abnormalities were observed in the echoscan of the hearth. According to the clinical and electrocardiographic findings, and to previous episode of DVT in anamnesis, a thorax CT scan was performed in order to rule out pulmonary embolism. Read More

J Clin Med 2017 Sep 4;6(9). Epub 2017 Sep 4.

Infectious Disease Division, Winthrop-University Hospital Mineola, NY 11501, USA.

Clinically, in young immunocompetent adults, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) usually manifests as infectious mononucleosis (IM). Typical clinical findings of EBV IM include fever, profound fatigue, pharyngitis, bilateral posterior cervical adenopathy, and splenomegaly. Respiratory involvement with EBV IM may occur, but is distinctly rare. Read More

Pneumonia (Nathan) 2017 25;9:12. Epub 2017 Aug 25.

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals are more susceptible to respiratory tract infections by other infectious agents (viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi) as their disease progresses to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Despite effective antiretroviral therapy, bacterial pneumonia (the most frequently occurring HIV-associated pulmonary illness) remains a common cause of morbidity and mortality in the HIV-infected population. Over the last few decades, studies have looked at the role of atypical bacterial pneumonia (i. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2017 Jul 26;2017. Epub 2017 Jul 26.

Department of Internal Medicine, Tweesteden Ziekenhuis, Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Rhabdomyolysis is a very rare and serious extrapulmonary manifestation of a infection. We describe a case of a 47-year-old male patient who presented with progressive dyspnoea, hypoxaemia and cough during the last 3 days. He had no relevant muscular complaints but was diagnosed with severe rhabdomyolysis for which he was treated with hyperhydration. Read More

Int J Antimicrob Agents 2017 Nov 11;50(5):629-639. Epub 2017 Jul 11.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, 1000 W. Carson Street, Box 466, Torrance, CA 90509, USA. Electronic address:

Growing data suggest that antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections are common in low- and middle-income countries. This review summarises the microbiology of key bacterial syndromes encountered in West Africa and estimates the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that could compromise first-line empirical treatment. We systematically searched for studies reporting on the epidemiology of bacterial infection and prevalence of AMR in West Africa within key clinical syndromes. Read More

J Pediatr (Rio J) 2018 Jan - Feb;94(1):23-30. Epub 2017 Jun 29.

Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Faculdade de Medicina, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Salvador, BA, Brazil; Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Pediatria, Salvador, BA, Brazil.

Objective: Community-acquired pneumonia is an important cause of morbidity in childhood, but the detection of its causative agent remains a diagnostic challenge. The authors aimed to evaluate the role of the chest radiograph to identify cases of community-aquired pneumonia caused by typical bacteria.

Methods: The frequency of infection by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis was compared in non-hospitalized children with clinical diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia aged 2-59 months with or without radiological confirmation (n=249 and 366, respectively). Read More

Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin 2018 05 23;36(5):284-289. Epub 2017 Jun 23.

Internal Medicine Department - Infectious Disease Unit, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo, Spain.

Introduction: Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) typically presents as bacterial pneumonia, meningitis or primary bacteraemia. However, Streptococcus pneumoniae can produce infection at any level of the body (endocarditis, arthritis, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, etc.), which is also known as unusual IPD (uIPD). Read More

Crit Care 2017 Jun 7;21(1):137. Epub 2017 Jun 7.

Service de réanimation médicale, Hôpital Saint-Louis, AP-HP, Paris, France.

Background: Pneumonia is a dreaded complication of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection in adults; however, the data are limited. Our objective was to investigate the clinical features, management, and outcomes of critically ill patients with VZV-related community-acquired pneumonia (VZV-CAP).

Methods: This was an observational study of patients with VZV-CAP admitted to 29 intensive care units (ICUs) from January 1996 to January 2015. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2017 06 2;17(1):385. Epub 2017 Jun 2.

College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Drachman Hall - B306, 1295 N Martin Ave, P.O.Box 210202, Tucson, AZ, USA.

Background: Both typical and atypical bacteria can cause community-acquired pneumonia (CAP); however, the need for empiric atypical coverage remains controversial. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of antibiotic regimens with atypical coverage (a fluoroquinolone or combination of a macrolide/doxycycline with a β-lactam) to a regimen without atypical antibiotic coverage (β-lactam monotherapy) on rates of clinical failure (primary endpoint), mortality, bacteriologic failure, and adverse events, (secondary endpoints).

Methods: We searched the PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases for relevant RCTs of hospitalized CAP adults. Read More

Can Assoc Radiol J 2017 Aug 4;68(3):328-333. Epub 2017 May 4.

Centre de recherche, Centre de pneumologie, Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada. Electronic address:

Purpose: Legionnaires' disease (LD) may occur sporadically or in the course of outbreaks, where the typical radiological manifestations of the disease may better be delineated. We took advantage of a rare community-based epidemic of LD (181 patients) that occurred in 2012 in Quebec City, Canada, to describe the radiographic features of LD and compare the its tomographic presentation with that of community-acquired pneumonia caused by common bacteria other than Legionella pneumophila.

Methods: From the 181 individuals affected in the outbreak, we obtained the chest radiographs of 159 individuals (mean 63 ± 15 years of age) for detailed analysis; 33 patients had a computed tomography (CT) scan performed during the course of their illness. Read More

Eur J Pediatr 2017 Jun 4;176(6):815-824. Epub 2017 May 4.

Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Child and Adolescent Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals and University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.

Recommendations for the management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) advocate that, in the absence of the clinical and laboratory findings typical of bacterial CAP, antibiotics are not required. However, the true value of the clinical and laboratory predictors of pediatric CAP still needs to be assessed. This prospective cohort study in three emergency departments enrolled 142 children with radiological pneumonia. Read More

Front Immunol 2017 13;8:435. Epub 2017 Apr 13.

Department of Immunology, Biomedical Science Institute, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a serious public health problem despite the great scientific advances in the recent decades. We have previously shown that aggressive forms of TB caused by hypervirulent strains of and are attenuated in mice lacking the P2X7 receptor, an ion channel activated by extracellular ATP. Therefore, P2X7 receptor is a potential target for therapeutic intervention. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2017 Jul;65(2):183-190

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.

Background: Recent trials suggest procalcitonin-based guidelines can reduce antibiotic use for respiratory infections. However, the accuracy of procalcitonin to discriminate between viral and bacterial pneumonia requires further dissection.

Methods: We evaluated the association between serum procalcitonin concentration at hospital admission with pathogens detected in a multicenter prospective surveillance study of adults hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia. Read More

Pediatr Crit Care Med 2017 Apr;18(4):e162-e166

Both authors: Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Neonatal Diseases, The Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.

Objectives: Although pneumonia is easily diagnosed, determining the causative agent is difficult due to low pathogen detection rates. We performed a prospective observational study to evaluate the utility of measuring inflammatory cytokine levels to discriminate between pneumonia caused by typical bacteria, respiratory syncytial virus, or Mycoplasma pneumoniae in a pediatric population.

Design: Serum inflammatory cytokine levels at early stages of the disease were evaluated for pneumonia caused by the three different pathogenic microorganisms. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2017 Apr 7;584-585:803-812. Epub 2017 Feb 7.

Environmental Chemodynamics Project, National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy, Sri Lanka. Electronic address:

The presence of bacteria and heavy metals in atmospheric deposition were investigated in Kandy, Sri Lanka, which is a typical city in the developing world with significant traffic congestion. Atmospheric deposition samples were analyzed for Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb which are heavy metals common to urban environments. Al and Fe were found in high concentrations due to the presence of natural sources, but may also be re-suspended by vehicular traffic. Read More

Infect Dis Clin North Am 2017 03;31(1):179-191

Division of Infectious Disease, Winthrop-University Hospital, Mineola, NY 11501, USA; School of Medicine, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.

Legionnaire's disease is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Although no single clinical feature is diagnostic, if characteristic extrapulmonary findings are present a presumptive clinical syndromic diagnosis is possible. Depending on geographic location, season, and physician awareness, Legionnaire's disease may be included in the differential diagnosis of CAP. Read More

J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc 2018 Feb;7(1):46-53

University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City.

Background: Lower procalcitonin (PCT) concentrations are associated with reduced risk of bacterial community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in adults, but data in children are limited.

Methods: We analyzed serum PCT concentrations from children hospitalized with radiographically confirmed CAP enrolled in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Etiology of Pneumonia in the Community (EPIC) Study. Blood and respiratory specimens were tested using multiple pathogen detection methods for typical bacteria (eg, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus), atypical bacteria (Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydophila pneumoniae), and respiratory viruses. Read More