Etiology, reasons for hospitalization, risk classes, and outcomes of community-acquired pneumonia in patients hospitalized on the basis of conventional admission criteria

The social experience of uncertainty: a qualitative analysis of emergency department care for suspected pneumonia for the design of decision support

BACKGROUND

This study sought to understand the process of clinical decision-making for suspected pneumonia by emergency departments (ED) providers in Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers. The long-term goal of this work is to create clinical decision support tools to reduce unwarranted variation in diagnosis and treatment of suspected pneumonia.

METHODS

Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 16 ED clinicians from 9 VA facilities demonstrating variation in antibiotic and hospitalization decisions. Interviews of ED providers focused on understanding decision making for provider-selected pneumonia cases and providers' organizational contexts.

RESULTS

Thematic analysis identified four salient themes: i) ED decision-making for suspected pneumonia is a social process; ii) the "diagnosis drives treatment" paradigm is poorly suited to pneumonia decision-making in the ED; iii) The unpredictability of the ED requires deliberate and effortful information management by providers in CAP decision-making; and iv) the emotional stakes and high uncertainty of pneumonia care drive conservative decision making.

CONCLUSIONS

Ensuring CDS reflects the realities of clinical work as a socially organized process with high uncertainty may ultimately improve communication between ED and admitting providers, continuity of care and patient outcomes.

Usefulness of a predictive model to hospitalize patients with low-risk community-acquired pneumonia

INTRODUCTION

A high proportion of patients with low-risk community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) (classes I-III of the Pneumonia Severity Index) are hospitalized. The purpose of this study was to determine whether validated severity scales are used in clinical practice to make admission decisions, identify the variables that influence this decision, and evaluate the potential predictive value of these variables.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A prospective, observational study of patients ≥ 18 years of age with a diagnosis of low-risk CAP hospitalized or referred from the Emergency Department to outpatient consultations. A multivariate logistic regression predictive model was built to predict the decision to hospitalize a patient.

RESULTS

The study population was composed of 1,208 patients (806 inpatients and 402 outpatients). The severity of CAP was estimated in 250 patients (20.7%). The factors that determined hospitalization were "abnormal findings in complementary studies" (643/806: 79.8%; due to respiratory failure in 443 patients) and "signs of clinical deterioration" [64/806 (7.9%): hypotension (16/64, 25%); hemoptoic expectoration (12/64, 18.8%); tachypnea (10/64, 15.6%)]. In total, ambulatory management was not contraindicated in 24.7% of hospitalized patients (199). The predictive model built to decide about hospitalization had a good power of discrimination (AUC 0.876; 95%CI: 0.855-0.897).

CONCLUSIONS

Scales are rarely used to estimate the severity of CAP at the emergency department. The decision to hospitalize or not a patient largely depends on the clinical experience of the physician. Our predictive model showed a good power to discriminate the patients who required hospitalization. Further studies are warranted to validate these results.

Hospital admission decisions for older Veterans with community-onset pneumonia: An analysis of 118 U.S. Veterans Affairs Medical Centers

OBJECTIVES

Age is important for prognosis in community-onset pneumonia, but how it influences admission decisions in the emergency department (ED) is not well characterized. Using clinical data from the electronic health record in a national cohort, we examined pneumonia hospitalization patterns, variation, and relationships with mortality among older versus younger Veterans.

METHODS

In a retrospective cohort of patients ≥ 18 years presenting to EDs with a diagnosis of pneumonia at 118 VA Medical Centers January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2016, we compared observed, predicted, and residual hospitalization risk for Veterans < 70, 70-79, and ≥ 80 years of age using generalized estimating equations and machine learning models with 71 patient factors. We examined facility variation in residual hospitalization across facilities and explored whether facility differences in hospitalization risk correlated with differences in 30-day mortality.

RESULTS

Among 297,498 encounters, 165,003 (55%) were for Veterans < 70 years, 61,076 (21%) 70-80, and 71,419 (24%) ≥ 80. Hospitalization rates were 52%, 67%, and 76%, respectively. After other patient factors were adjusting for, age 70-79 had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.39 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.34-1.44) and ≥ 80 had an OR of 2.1 (95% CI 2.0-2.2) compared to age < 70. There was substantial variation in hospitalization across facilities among Veterans < 70 (<35% hospitalization at the lowest decile of facilities vs. > 66% at the highest decile) that was similar but with higher risk for patients 70-79 years (54% vs. 82%) and ≥ 80 years (59% vs. 85%) and remained after accounting for patient factors, with no consistently positive or negative associations with facility-level 30-day mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Older Veterans with community-onset pneumonia experience high risk of hospitalization, with widespread facility variation that has no clear relationship to short-term mortality.

ESTIMATING THE RISK OF BACTERAEMIA IN HOSPITALISED PATIENTS WITH PNEUMOCOCCAL PNEUMONIA

Objective To construct a prediction model for bacteraemia in patients with pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia (P-CAP) based on variables easily obtained at hospital admission. MethodsThis prospective observational multicentre derivation-validation study was conducted in patients hospitalised with P-CAP between 2000-2020. All cases were diagnosed based on positive urinary antigen tests in the emergency department and had blood cultures taken on admission. A risk score to predict bacteraemia was developed. Results We included 1783 patients with P-CAP (1195 in the derivation and 588 in the validation cohort). A third (33.3%) of the patients had bacteraemia. In the multivariate analysis, the following were identified as independent factors associated with bacteraemia: no influenza vaccination the last year, no pneumococcal vaccination in the last 5 years, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) ≥30 mg/dL, sodium <130 mmol/L, lymphocyte count <800/µl, C-reactive protein ≥200 mg/L, respiratory failure, pleural effusion and no antibiotic treatment before admission. The score yielded good discrimination (AUC 0.732; 95% CI: 0.695-0.769) and calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow p-value 0.801), with similar performance in the validation cohort (AUC 0.764; 95% CI:0.719-0.809). Conclusions We found nine predictive factors easily obtained on hospital admission that could help achieve early identification of bacteraemia. The prediction model provides a useful tool to guide diagnostic decisions.

Bacteraemic pneumococcal pneumonia and SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia: differences and similarities

OBJECTIVE

To analyse differences in clinical presentation and outcome between bacteraemic pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia (B-PCAP) and sSvere Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia.

METHODS

This observational multi-centre study was conducted on patients hospitalized with B-PCAP between 2000 and 2020 and SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in 2020. Thirty-day survival, predictors of mortality, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission were compared.

RESULTS

In total, 663 patients with B-PCAP and 1561 patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia were included in this study. Patients with B-PCAP had more severe disease, a higher ICU admission rate and more complications. Patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia had higher in-hospital mortality (10.8% vs 6.8%; P=0.004). Among patients admitted to the ICU, the need for invasive mechanical ventilation (69.7% vs 36.2%; P<0.001) and mortality were higher in patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. In patients with B-PCAP, the predictive model found associations between mortality and systemic complications (hyponatraemia, septic shock and neurological complications), lower respiratory reserve and tachypnoea; chest pain and purulent sputum were protective factors in these patients. In patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, mortality was associated with previous liver and cardiac disease, advanced age, altered mental status, tachypnoea, hypoxaemia, bilateral involvement, pleural effusion, septic shock, neutrophilia and high blood urea nitrogen; in contrast, ≥7 days of symptoms was a protective factor in these patients. In-hospital mortality occurred earlier in patients with B-PCAP.

CONCLUSIONS

Although B-PCAP was associated with more severe disease and a higher ICU admission rate, the mortality rate was higher for SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia and deaths occurred later. New prognostic scales and more effective treatments are needed for patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia.

A prospective observational study of community acquired pneumonia in Kenya: the role of viral pathogens

BACKGROUND

Lower respiratory tract infections continue to contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality across all age groups globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, many studies of community acquired pneumonia in adults have focused on HIV-infected patients and little attention has been given to risk factors and etiologic agents in an urban area with a more moderate HIV prevalence.

METHODS

We prospectively enrolled 77 patients admitted to a 280 bed teaching hospital in Kenya with radiographically confirmed community acquired pneumonia from May 2019 to March 2020. The patients were followed for etiology and clinical outcomes. Viral PCR testing was performed using the FTD respiratory pathogen-21 multiplex kit on nasopharyngeal or lower respiratory samples. Additional microbiologic workup was performed as determined by the treating physicians.

RESULTS

A potential etiologic agent(s) was identified in 57% including 43% viral, 5% combined viral and bacterial, 5% bacterial and 4% Pneumocystis. The most common etiologic agent was Influenza A which was associated with severe clinical disease. The most common underlying conditions were cardiovascular disease, diabetes and lung disease, while HIV infection was identified in only 13% of patients. Critical care admission was required for 24, and 31% had acute kidney injury, sometimes in combination with acute respiratory distress or sepsis.

CONCLUSION

Viruses, especially influenza, were commonly found in patients with CAP. In contrast to other studies from sub-Saharan Africa, the underlying conditions were similar to those reported in high resource areas and point to the growing concern of the double burden of infectious and noncommunicable diseases.

Epidemiology, treatment and outcome of patients with lower respiratory tract infection presenting to emergency departments with dyspnoea (AANZDEM and EuroDEM studies)

OBJECTIVE

Lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) is a frequent cause of dyspnoea in EDs, and is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. We described and compared the management of this disease in Europe and Oceania/South-East Asia (SEA) cohorts.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective cohort study with three time points in Europe and Oceania/SEA. We included in this manuscript patients presenting to EDs with dyspnoea and a diagnosis of LRTI in ED. We collected comorbidities, chronic medication, clinical signs at arrival, laboratory parameters, ED management and patient outcomes.

RESULTS

A total of 1389 patients were included, 773 in Europe and 616 in SEA. The European cohort had more comorbidities including chronic heart failure, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and smoking. Levels of inflammatory markers were higher in Europe. There were more patients with inflammatory markers in Europe and more hypercapnia in Oceania/SEA. The use of antibiotics was higher in SEA (72.2% vs 61.8%, P < 0.001) whereas intravenous diuretics, non-invasive and invasive ventilation were higher in Europe. Intensive care unit admission rate was 9.9% in Europe cohort and 3.4% in Oceania/SEA cohort. ED mortality was 1% and overall in-hospital mortality was 8.7% with no differences between regions.

CONCLUSIONS

More patients with LRTI in Europe presented with cardio-respiratory comorbidities, they received more adjunct therapies and had a higher intensive care unit admission rate than patients from Oceania/SEA, although mortality was similar between the two cohorts.

Healthcare-associated pneumonia: a prospective study in Spain

Objective

The aim of the study was to describe the epidemiological characteristics and factors related to outcome in Streptococcus pneumoniae and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP).

Patients and method

A 3-year prospective observational epidemiological case study of HCAP was conducted in seven Spanish hospitals. Microbiological and patient characteristics and outcomes were collected and classified by causative pathogen into 4 categories: “S. pneumoniae”, “MRSA”, “Others” and “Unknown”. Patients were followed up 30 days after discharge.

Results

A total of 258 (84.6%) patients were enrolled (170 were men [65.9%]). Mean age was 72.4 years ± 15 years (95% CI [70.54-74.25]). The etiology of pneumonia was identified in 73 cases (28.3%):S. pneumoniae in 35 patients (13.6%), MRSA in 8 (3.1%), and other microorganisms in 30 patients (11.6%). Significant differences in rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (p < 0.05), previous antibiotic treatment (p < 0.05), other chronic respiratory diseases, inhaled corticosteroids (p < 0.01), and lymphoma (p < 0.05) were observed among the four groups. Patients with MRSA pneumonia had received more previous antibiotic treatment (87.5%). Thirty-three (12.8%) patients died during hospitalisation; death in 27 (81.2%) was related to pneumonia.

Conclusions

The etiology of HCAP was identified in only one quarter of patients, with S. pneumoniae being the most prevalent microorganism. Patients with chronic respiratory diseases more frequently presented HCAP due to MRSA than to S. pneumoniae. Death at hospital discharge was related in most cases to pneumonia.

Concordance of early and late endpoints for community-acquired bacterial pneumonia trials

BACKGROUND

While there are ongoing regulatory convergence efforts, differences remain in primary endpoints recommended for community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) trials. The US Food and Drug Administration recommends assessing CABP symptom resolution at an early time point (3-5 days after randomization). Other regulatory agencies recommend assessing overall clinical response at a later time point (5-10 days after therapy ends).

METHODS

We analyzed participant-level data from six recent CABP trials submitted to the FDA (n=4,645 participants) to evaluate concordance between early and late endpoint outcomes. We used multivariate logistic regression to identify factors associated with discordance.

RESULTS

Early and late endpoint outcomes were concordant for 85.6% of participants. The proportions of early endpoint responders that ultimately failed and early endpoint non-responders that ultimately succeeded were similar (6.0% vs 8.4%, respectively). Early endpoint response was highly predictive of late endpoint success (positive predictive value 92.9%). Multivariate logistic regression identified early endpoint responders/late endpoint failures as less likely to be obese and more likely to be infected with Chlamydophila pneumoniae or Staphylococcus aureus, have received antibacterial drug therapy prior to randomization, and have severe chest pain at baseline. The most common investigator-provided reasons for failure among early endpoint responders/late endpoint failures were receipt of non-study antibacterial drug therapy and loss to follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Early and late endpoint outcomes were highly concordant. These data may be useful in the continuing efforts to reach international regulatory convergence on CABP clinical trial design recommendations.

Non-bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia: general characteristics and early predictive factors for poor outcome

Purpose: Nowadays, most cases of pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia (PCAP) are diagnosed by positive urinary antigen. Our aims were to analyse process of care in patients hospitalised with non-bacteremic PCAP (NB-PCAP) and identify factors associated with poor outcome (PO) in this population.Methods: We conducted a prospective study, including patients hospitalised for NB-PCAP (positive urinary antigen and negative blood culture) over a 15 year period. We performed multivariate analysis of predisposing factors for PO, defined as need for mechanical ventilation and/or shock and/or in-hospital death.Results: Of the 638 patients included, 4.1% died in hospital and 12.8% had PO. Host-related factors were similar in patients with and without PO, but patients with PO had higher illness severity on admission. Adjusted analysis revealed the following independent factors associated with PO: being a nursing home resident (OR: 6.156; 95% CI: 1.827-20.750; p = .003), respiratory rate ≥30 breaths/min (OR: 3.030; 95% CI: 1.554-5.910; p = .001), systolic blood pressure <90 mmHg (OR: 4.789; 95% CI: 1.967-11.660; p = .001), diastolic blood pressure <60 mmHg (OR: 2.820; 95% CI: 1.329-5.986; p = .007), pulse rate ≥125 beats/min (OR: 3.476; 95% CI: 1.607-7.518; p = .002), pH <7.35 (OR: 9.323; 95% CI: 3.680-23.622; p < .001), leukocytes <4000/µL (OR: 10.007; 95% CI: 2.960-33.835; p < .001), and severe inflammation (OR: 2.364; 95% CI 1.234-4.526; p = .009). The area under the curve for predicting PO was 0.890 (95% CI: 0.851-0.929).Conclusions: Since patients with PO seem different and had worse in-hospital course, we identified eight independent risk factors for PO measurable on admission.

Biomarkers in Pneumonia-Beyond Procalcitonin

Pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of mortality worldwide and one of the most common lower respiratory tract infections that is contributing significantly to the burden of antibiotic consumption. Due to the complexity of its pathophysiology, it is widely accepted that clinical diagnosis and prognosis are inadequate for the accurate assessment of the severity of the disease. The most challenging task for a physician is the risk stratification of patients with community-acquired pneumonia. Herein, early diagnosis is essential in order to reduce hospitalization and mortality. Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein remain the most widely used biomarkers, while interleukin 6 has been of particular interest in the literature. However, none of them appear to be ideal, and the search for novel biomarkers that will most sufficiently predict the severity and treatment response in pneumonia has lately intensified. Although our insight has significantly increased over the last years, a translational approach with the application of genomics, metabolomics, microbiomics, and proteomics is required to better understand the disease. In this review, we discuss this rapidly evolving area and summarize the application of novel biomarkers that appear to be promising for the accurate diagnosis and risk stratification of pneumonia.

Severity scoring systems for pneumonia: current understanding and next steps

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To describe the current understanding and clinical applicability of severity scoring systems in pneumonia management.

RECENT FINDINGS

Severity scores in community-acquired pneumonia are strong markers of mortality, but are not necessarily clinical decision-aid tools. The use of severity scores to support outpatient care in low-risk patients has moderate-to-strong evidence available in the literature, mainly for the pneumonia severity index, and must be applied together with clinical judgment. It is not clear that severity scores are helpful to guide empiric antibiotic treatment. The inclusion of biomarkers and performance status might improve the predictive performance of the well known severity scores in community-acquired pneumonia. We should improve our methods for score evaluation and move toward the development of decision-aid tools.

SUMMARY

The application of the available evidence favors the use of severity scoring systems to improve the delivery of care for pneumonia patients. The incorporation of new methodologies and the formulation of different questions other than mortality prediction might help the further development of severity scoring systems, and enhance their support to the clinical decision-making process for the pneumonia-management cascade.

Validating a novel index (SWAT-Bp) to predict mortality risk of community-acquired pneumonia in Malawi

BACKGROUND

Community-acquired pneumonia is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Early assessment and initiation of management improves outcomes. In higher-income countries, scores assist in predicting mortality from pneumonia. These have not been validated for use in most lower-income countries.

AIM

To validate a new score, the SWAT-Bp score, in predicting mortality risk of clinical community-acquired pneumonia amongst hospital admissions at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi.

METHODS

The five variables constituting the SWAT-Bp score (male [S]ex, muscle [W]asting, non-[A]mbulatory, [T]emperature (>38°C or <35°C) and [B]lood [p]ressure (systolic<100 and/or diastolic<60)) were recorded for all patients with clinical presentation of a lower respiratory tract infection, presumed to be pneumonia, over four months (N=216). The sensitivity and specificity of the score were calculated to determine accuracy of predicting mortality risk.

RESULTS

Median age was 35 years, HIV prevalence was 84.2% amongst known statuses, and mortality rate was 12.5%. Mortality for scores 0-5 was 0%, 8.5%, 12.7%, 19.0%, 28.6%, 100% respectively. Patients were stratified into three mortality risk groups dependent on their score. SWAT-Bp had moderate discriminatory power overall (AUROC 0.744). A SWAT-Bp score of ≥2 was 82% sensitive and 51% specific for predicting mortality, thereby assisting in identifying individuals with a lower mortality risk.

CONCLUSION

In this validation cohort, the SWAT-Bp score has not performed as well as in the derivation cohort. However, it could potentially assist clinicians identifying low-risk patients, enabling rapid prioritisation of treatment in a low-resource setting, as it helps contribute towards individual patient risk stratification.

A model for predicting bacteremia in patients with community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia: a retrospective observational study

Background

Pneumococcal pneumonia causes high morbidity and mortality among adults. This study aimed to identify risk factors for bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia, and to construct a prediction model for the development of bacteremia in patients with community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed data from patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia between April 2007 and August 2015. Logistic regression models were applied to detect risk factors for pneumococcal bacteremia, and a receiver operating characteristic curve was used to devise a prediction model.

Results

Based on the results of sputum cultures, urine antigen tests, and/or blood cultures, 389 patients were diagnosed with pneumococcal pneumonia, 46 of whom had bacteremia. In the multivariate analysis, age < 65 years, serum albumin level < 3.0 g/dL, need for intensive respiratory or vasopressor support (IRVS), and C-reactive protein level > 20 mg/dL were identified as independent risk factors for the development of pneumococcal bacteremia. The bacteremia prediction score based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis had a sensitivity of 0.74 and a specificity of 0.78 in patients with two risk factors. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.77 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.70–0.85).

Conclusions

Age < 65 years, hypoalbuminemia, IRVS, and high C-reactive protein level on admission are independent risk factors for the development of bacteremia in patients with community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia. A prediction model based on these four risk factors could help to identify patients with community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia at high risk of developing bacteremia; this can be used to guide antibiotic choices.

Trial registration

UMIN-CTR UMIN 000004353. Registered 7 October 2010. Retrospectively registered.

Rates and risk factors associated with hospitalization for pneumonia with ICU admission among adults

BACKGROUND

Pneumonia poses a significant burden to the U.S. health-care system. However, there are few data focusing on severe pneumonia, particularly cases of pneumonia associated with specialized care in intensive care units (ICU).

METHODS

We used administrative and electronic medical record data from six integrated health care systems to estimate rates of pneumonia hospitalizations with ICU admissions among adults during 2006 through 2010. Pneumonia hospitalization was defined as either a primary discharge diagnosis of pneumonia or a primary discharge diagnosis of sepsis or respiratory failure with a secondary diagnosis of pneumonia in administrative data. ICU admissions were collected from internal electronic medical records from each system. Comorbidities were identified by ICD-9-CM codes coded during the current pneumonia hospitalization, as well as during medical visits that occurred during the year prior to the date of admission.

RESULTS

We identified 119,537 adult hospitalizations meeting our definition for pneumonia. Approximately 19% of adult pneumonia hospitalizations had an ICU admission. The rate of pneumonia hospitalizations requiring ICU admission during the study period was 76 per 100,000 population/year; rates increased for each age-group with the highest rates among adults aged ≥85 years. Having a co-morbidity approximately doubled the risk of ICU admission in all age-groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study indicates a significant burden of pneumonia hospitalizations with an ICU admission among adults in our cohort during 2006 through 2010, especially older age-groups and persons with underlying medical conditions. These findings reinforce current strategies aimed to prevent pneumonia among adults.

Prognostic performance of MR-pro-adrenomedullin in patients with community acquired pneumonia in the Emergency Department compared to clinical severity scores PSI and CURB

AIM

(i) evaluate the performance of MR-pro-ADM in reflecting the outcome and risk for CAP patients in the emergency department, and (ii) compare the prognostic performance of MR-pro-ADM with that of clinical scores PSI and CURB65.

METHODS

Observational prospective, single-center study in patients with suspected community acquired pneumonia (CAP). Eighty one patients underwent full clinical and laboratory assessment as by protocol, and were followed up a 28 days. Primary endpoints measured were: death, death at 14 days, non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV), endotracheal intubation (EI), ICU admission, overall hospital stay >10 days, emergency department stay >4 days. The discriminative performance of MR-pro-ADM and clinical scores was assessed by AUROC analysis.

RESULTS

The distribution for MR-pro-ADM followed an upward trend, increasing with the increase of both PSI (p<0.001) and CURB65 (p<0.001) classes. However, the difference between MRproADM values and score classes was significant only in the case of CURB65 classes 0 and 1 (p = 0.046), 2 (p = 0.013), and 3 (p = 0.011); and with PSI classes 5, 3 (p = 0.044), and 1 (p = 0.020). As to the differences among variables for the six end-points, MR-pro-ADM values in the two groups selected for each considered end-point differed in a statistically significant manner for all endpoints. Both PSI and CURB65 differed significantly for all end-points, except for stay in the ED longer than 4 days and the hospital stay longer than 10 days and endotracheal intubation (only PSI classes differed with statistical significance). ROC analyses evidenced that MR-pro-ADM values gave the greatest AUC for the prediction of death, endotracheal intubation, hospital stay >10 days and DE stay >4 days, compared to the PSI and CURB (though difference not statistically significant). For each endpoint measured, the best thresholds values for Mr-pro-ADM were: 1.6 (specificity 76.5%; sensitivity 77.8%) for death; 2.5 (specificity 88.9%; sensitivity 80.0%) for death at 14 days; 1.5 (specificity 77.0%; sensitivity 87.5%) for NIMV; 2.4 (specificity 88.7%; sensitivity 83.3%) for endotracheal intubation; 0.9 (specificity 53.5%; sensitivity 70.6%) for DE stay greater than 4 days; 1.9 (specificity 82.1%; sensitivity 55.3%) for hospital stay greater than 10 days. The AUC for the combination of MR-pro-ADM and PSI was 81.29% [63.41%-99.17%], but not in a statistically significant manner compared to the AUCs of the single predictors. Conversely, the AUC for the combination of MR-pro-ADM and CURB65 was 87.58% [75.54%-99.62%], which was significantly greater than the AUC of CURB65 (p = 0.047) or PSI (p = 0.017) alone.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study confirms that assessment of MR-pro-ADM levels in CAP patients in addition to CURB scores increases the prognostic accuracy of CURB alone and may help rule out discrepancies arising from flawed clinical severity classification. With particular reference to patients scoring in the upper classes of CURB and PSI, MR-pro-ADM values provided additional information towards a better risk stratification of those patients. In particular, our results pointed towards two MR-pro-ADM threshold values that appear to predict with a good degree of accuracy the patient's need for non-invasive mechanical ventilation, endotracheal intubation, or intensive care. This aspect, however, deserves further investigation.

Predictors of treatment failure and clinical stability in patients with community acquired pneumonia

Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the leading infectious cause of mortality worldwide with approximately 10% of patients hospitalized requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. The ability to predict clinical stability (CS) and treatment failure (TF) enables the clinician to alter antibiotics appropriately, facilitate a timely ICU admission, or arrange a suitable discharge. The detection of CS and TF can be difficult and changes in clinical signs may be subtle or delayed. Thus clinical scores and biomarkers are routinely used to identify severity and monitor clinical progression. The evidence, however, is vast and the definitive role of these systems is at times difficult to elucidate. The aim of this review is to analyse the current literature and to provide a rational and clinically focused view of the predictive utility of various systems used to identify CS and TF in CAP.

Early identification of patients at risk for acute respiratory distress syndrome among severe pneumonia: a retrospective cohort study

Background

Severe pneumonia is the predominant cause for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Identification of ARDS from patients with severe pneumonia remains a significant clinical problem due to the overlap of clinical presentations and symptoms. Early recognition of risks for ARDS from severe pneumonia is of great clinical value.

Methods

From April 2014 to December 2015, patients with severe pneumonia at admission were retrieved from the hospital database, of which ARDS developed within 7 days were further identified. We compared the demographic and clinical characteristics at admission between severe pneumonia patients with and without ARDS development, followed by analysis of potential predictors for ARDS development and mortality. Multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed to screen independent risk factors and identify their sensitivity in predicting ARDS development and prognosis.

Results

Compared with severe pneumonia without ARDS development, patients with ARDS development had shorter disease duration before admission, higher lung injury score (LIS), serum fibrinogen (FiB), and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP), lower Marshall score, sequential organ failure assessment score and proportion of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases, but similar mortality. Serum FiB >5.15 g/L [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.893, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.141-3.142, P=0.014] and PEEP >6.5 cmH₂O (adjusted OR 1.651, 95% CI: 1.218-2.237, P=0.001) were independent predictors for ARDS development with a sensitivity of 58.3% and 87.5%, respectively, and pH <7.35 (adjusted OR 0.832, 95% CI: 0.702-0.985, P=0.033) was an independent risk factor for ARDS mortality with a sensitivity of 95.2%.

Conclusions

ARDS development risk could be early recognized by PEEP >6.5 cmH₂O and serum FiB >5.15 g/L in severe pneumonia patients, and pH <7.35 is a reliable prognostic factor in predicting ARDS mortality risk.

Chlamydia psittaci (psittacosis) as a cause of community-acquired pneumonia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Psittacosis is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by the transmission of the bacterium Chlamydia psittaci from birds to humans. Infections in humans mainly present as community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, most cases of CAP are treated without diagnostic testing, and the importance of C. psittaci infection as a cause of CAP is therefore unclear. In this meta-analysis of published CAP-aetiological studies, we estimate the proportion of CAP caused by C. psittaci infection. The databases MEDLINE and Embase were systematically searched for relevant studies published from 1986 onwards. Only studies that consisted of 100 patients or more were included. In total, 57 studies were selected for the meta-analysis. C. psittaci was the causative pathogen in 1·03% (95% CI 0·79-1·30) of all CAP cases from the included studies combined, with a range between studies from 0 to 6·7%. For burden of disease estimates, it is a reasonable assumption that 1% of incident cases of CAP are caused by psittacosis.

Emergency Medicine Evaluation of Community-Acquired Pneumonia: History, Examination, Imaging and Laboratory Assessment, and Risk Scores

BACKGROUND

Pneumonia is a common infection, accounting for approximately one million hospitalizations in the United States annually. This potentially life-threatening disease is commonly diagnosed based on history, physical examination, and chest radiograph.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate emergency medicine evaluation of community-acquired pneumonia including history, physical examination, imaging, and the use of risk scores in patient assessment.

DISCUSSION

Pneumonia is the number one cause of death from infectious disease. The condition is broken into several categories, the most common being community-acquired pneumonia. Diagnosis centers on history, physical examination, and chest radiograph. However, all are unreliable when used alone, and misdiagnosis occurs in up to one-third of patients. Chest radiograph has a sensitivity of 46-77%, and biomarkers including white blood cell count, procalcitonin, and C-reactive protein provide little benefit in diagnosis. Biomarkers may assist admitting teams, but require further study for use in the emergency department. Ultrasound has shown utility in correctly identifying pneumonia. Clinical gestalt demonstrates greater ability to diagnose pneumonia. Clinical scores including Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI); Confusion, blood Urea nitrogen, Respiratory rate, Blood pressure, age 65 score (CURB-65); and several others may be helpful for disposition, but should supplement, not replace, clinical judgment. Patient socioeconomic status must be considered in disposition decisions.

CONCLUSION

The diagnosis of pneumonia requires clinical gestalt using a combination of history and physical examination. Chest radiograph may be negative, particularly in patients presenting early in disease course and elderly patients. Clinical scores can supplement clinical gestalt and assist in disposition when used appropriately.

Discordance of physician clinical judgment vs. pneumonia severity index (PSI) score to admit patients with low risk community-acquired pneumonia: a prospective multicenter study

BACKGROUND

The relationship between clinical judgment and the pneumonia severity index (PSI) score in deciding the site of care for patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has not been well investigated. The objective of the study was to determine the clinical factors that influence decision-making to hospitalize low-risk patients (PSI ≤2) with CAP.

METHODS

An observational, prospective, multicenter study of consecutive CAP patients was performed at five hospitals in Spain. Patients admitted with CAP and a PSI ≤2 were identified. Admitting physicians completed a patient-specific survey to identify the clinical factors influencing the decision to admit a patient. The reason for admission was categorized into 1 of 6 categories. We also assessed whether the reason for admission was associated with poorer clinical outcomes [intensive care unit (ICU) admission, 30-day mortality or readmission].

RESULTS

One hundred and fifty-five hospitalized patients were enrolled. Two or more reasons for admission were seen in 94 patients (60.6%), including abnormal clinical test results (60%), signs of clinical deterioration (43.2%), comorbid conditions (28.4%), psychosocial factors (28.4%), suspected H1N1 pneumonia (20.6%), and recent visit to the emergency department (ED) in the past 2 weeks (7.7%). Signs of clinical deterioration and abnormal clinical test results were associated with poorer clinical outcomes (P<0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

Low-risk patients with CAP and a PSI ≤2 are admitted to the hospital for multiple reasons. Abnormal clinical test results and signs of clinical deterioration are two specific reasons for admission that are associated with poorer clinical outcomes in low risk CAP patients.

Laboratory diagnosis of pneumonia in the molecular age

Pneumonia remains a worldwide health problem with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Identification of microbial pathogens which cause pneumonia is an important area for optimum clinical management of pneumonia patients and is a big challenge for conventional microbiological methods. The development and implementation of molecular diagnostic tests for pneumonia has been a major advance in the microbiological diagnosis of respiratory pathogens in recent years. However, with new knowledge regarding the microbiome, together with the recognition that the lungs are a dynamic microbiological ecosystem, our current concept of pneumonia is not totally realistic as this new concept of pneumonia involves a dysbiosis or alteration of the lung microbiome. A new challenge for microbiologists and clinicians has therefore arisen. There is much to learn regarding the information provided by this new diagnostic technology, which will lead to improvements in the time to antibiotic therapy, targeted antibiotic selection and more effective de-escalation and improved stewardship for pneumonia patients. This article provides an overview of current methods of laboratory diagnosis of pneumonia in the molecular age.

Solithromycin for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia

INTRODUCTION

Community-acquired pneumonia is a major public health problem worldwide. In recent years, there has been an increase in the frequency of resistance to the antimicrobials such as β-lactams or macrolides which have habitually been used against the causative pathogens. Solithromycin, a next-generation macrolide, is the first fluoroketolide with activity against most of the frequently isolated bacteria in community-acquired pneumonia, including typical and atypical bacteria as well as macrolide-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. Areas covered: A detailed assessment of the literature relating to the antimicrobial activity, pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic properties, efficacy, tolerability and safety of solithromycin for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia Expert commentary: Recent randomized controlled phase II/III trials have demonstrated the equivalent efficacy of oral and intravenous solithromycin compared with fluoroquinolones in patients with lower mild-to-moderate respiratory infections, and have shown that systemic adverse events are comparable between solithromycin and alternative treatments. However, studies of larger populations which are able to identify infrequent adverse events are now needed to confirm these findings. On balance, current data supports solithromycin as a promising therapy for empirical treatment in adults with community-acquired bacterial pneumonia.

Impact of antibiotic de-escalation on clinical outcomes in community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia

BACKGROUND

Although antibiotic de-escalation is regarded as a measure that reduces selection pressure, adverse drug effects and costs, evidence supporting this practice in community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia (CAPP) is lacking.

METHODS

We carried out a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of a cohort of hospitalized adults with CAPP. Pneumococcal aetiology was established in patients with one or more positive cultures for Streptococcus pneumoniae obtained from blood, sterile fluids or sputum, and/or a positive urinary antigen test. De-escalation therapy was considered when the initial antibiotic therapy was narrowed to penicillin, amoxicillin or amoxicillin/clavulanate within the first 72 h after admission. The primary outcomes were 30 day mortality and length of hospital stay (LOS). Adjustment for confounders was performed with multivariate and propensity score analyses.

RESULTS

Of 1410 episodes of CAPP, antibiotic de-escalation within the first 72 h after admission was performed in 166 cases. After adjustment, antibiotic de-escalation was not associated with a higher risk of mortality (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.24-2.81), but it was found to be a protective factor for prolonged LOS (above the median) (OR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.30-0.70). Similar results were found in patients classified into high-risk pneumonia severity index classes (IV-V), those with clinical instability and those with bacteraemia. No significant differences were documented in adverse drug reactions or readmission (<30 days).

CONCLUSIONS

Antibiotic de-escalation seems to be safe and effective in reducing the duration of LOS, and did not adversely affect outcomes of patients with CAPP, even those with bacteraemia and severe disease, and those who were clinically unstable.

The potential role of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in preventing respiratory complications in bacteraemic pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia

INTRODUCTION

Pneumococcal 13-valent vaccine (PCV-13) has a potential role in preventing bacteraemic pneumococcal pneumonia and its complications, but little is known about its ability to specifically prevent respiratory complications. Our aim were to analyse the pneumococcal serotypes associated with the development of respiratory complications and the potential role of PCV-13 in preventing respiratory complications in bacteraemic pneumococcal pneumonia.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We analysed demographic characteristics, comorbidities, antibiotic resistances and the outcomes of a cohort of 65 vaccine-naïve bacteraemic pneumococcal pneumonias, stratified by the pneumococcal serotypes included in PCV13 vs. those not included. Complications were clustered as follows: respiratory complications (hypoxemic respiratory failure; mechanical ventilation), systemic complications (septic shock; multiorgan failure), suppurative complications (empyema; pleural effusion; lung abscess).

RESULTS

From a population of 65 CAP-SP, 47.7% of the isolates belonged to PCV-13 serotypes group. No differences in comorbidities or clinical manifestations were found between groups. With regard to biochemical parameters, we found more profound hypoxemia levels in PCV-13 serotypes group comparing to non-vaccine group [PaO2/FiO2 209 (63) vs. 268 (57); p=0.007]. Global complications were identified in 69.2% (45 patients), and the most frequent were respiratory complications, found in 47.7%. Respiratory complications were detected more frequently in PCV-13 groups compared to non-vaccine groups (61.3% vs. 35.3%; p=0.036). Overall 30-day mortality was 30.8%. Mortality was similar between both groups (25.8% vs. 35.3%; p=0.408).

CONCLUSIONS

Pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine includes the serotypes which cause more respiratory complications in our series; these serotypes were not associated with higher mortality in our series. PCV-13 may have a potential role in preventing respiratory complications due to bacteraemic pneumonoccal pneumonia.

Biomarkers for predicting short-term mortality in community-acquired pneumonia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

The pneumonia severity index and CURB-65 are risk assessment tools widely used in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, limitations in these prognostic scores have led to increasing interest in finding biomarkers that might provide additional information. To date, the role of these biomarkers has not been fully elucidated.

METHODS

We systematically searched the Medline, Web of Knowledge, Science Direct, and LILACS databases. We included studies that assessed the accuracy of biomarkers for the prediction of in-hospital or ≤30-day mortality, in hospitalized adults with CAP. Two independent investigators extracted patient and study characteristics, which were thereafter pooled using a random effects model. Relationships between sensitivity and specificity of biomarkers and prognostic scores were plotter using the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC).

RESULTS

We included 24 articles and 2 databases from 1069 reviewed abstracts, which provided 10,319 patients for analysis. Reported mortality rates varied from 2.4% to 34.6%. The highest AUC values for predicting mortality were associated with pro-adrenomedullin (0.80) and prohormone forms of atrial natriuretic peptide (0.79), followed by cortisol (0.78), procalcitonin (0.75), copeptin (0.71), and C-reactive protein (0.62). There were no statistically significant differences between the AUCs of the studied biomarkers, other than for copeptin and C-reactive protein, which performed comparatively poorly. When compared with the CAP-specific scores, the AUCs were not significantly different from those of most biomarkers.

CONCLUSIONS

The identified biomarkers are able to predict mortality with moderate to good accuracy in CAP. However, biomarkers have no clear advantage over CAP-specific scores for predicting mortality.

Viral etiology of community-acquired pneumonia among adolescents and adults with mild or moderate severity and its relation to age and severity

BACKGROUND

Better knowledge of distribution of respiratory viruses (RVs) in adolescents and adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is needed.

METHODS

To investigate the RVs etiology among adolescents and adults with CAP, according to age and pneumonia severity index (PSI), a multi-center, prospective study was conducted from November 2010 to April 2012. Fifteen RVs were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Bacteria were detected by urinary antigen, conventional culture and PCR.

RESULTS

Mean (SD) age and median (IQR) PSI score of 954 patients enrolled was 45.2 (19.5) years (range 14-94) and 42 (36). RVs were found in 262 patients (27.5%): influenza virus A (IFV A, 9.9%) comprised of pandemic H1N1 (6.7%) and seasonal H3N2 (3.5%), human rhinovirus (4.3%), adenovirus (4.2%), human metapneumovirus (1.8%), parainfluenza virus 1, 3 and 2 (1.7%, 1.5% and 1.2%). Influenza virus B, enterovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, human coronavirus and parainfluenza virus 4 were rarely detected (<1%). Frequency of IFV A was highest among patients aged between 45-64 years (p < 0.001), while adenovirus among patients aged 14-17 years (p < 0.001), no differences was found in other RVs. The proportion of pandemic H1N1 increased with severity of pneumonia evaluated by PSI (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The proportion of RVs in CAP is higher than previously reported. IFV A pneumonia are usually found in patients older than 45 years, while, adenovirus pneumonia are common in adolescents and young adults. Pandemic H1N1 virus is still recognized by PSI as a high-severity pathogen. The findings contribute baseline data on viral CAP study in China.

The effect of simvastatin on inflammatory cytokines in community-acquired pneumonia: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

It has been suggested that statins have an effect on the modulation of the cytokine cascade and on the outcome of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The aim of this prospective, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was to determine whether statin therapy given to hospitalised patients with CAP improves clinical outcomes and reduces the concentration of inflammatory cytokines.

SETTING

A tertiary teaching hospital in Barcelona, Spain.

PARTICIPANTS

Thirty-four patients were randomly assigned and included in an intention-to-treat analysis (19 to the simvastatin group and 15 to the placebo group).

INTERVENTION

Patients were randomly assigned to receive 20 mg of simvastatin or placebo administered in the first 24 h of hospital admission and once daily thereafter for 4 days.

OUTCOME

Primary end point was the time from hospital admission to clinical stability. The secondary end points were serum concentrations of inflammatory cytokines and partial pressure of arterial oxygen/fractional inspired oxygen (PaO2/FiO2) at 48 h after treatment administration.

RESULTS

The trial was stopped because enrolment was much slower than originally anticipated. The baseline characteristics of the patients and cytokine concentrations at the time of enrolment were similar in the two groups. No significant differences in the time from hospital admission to clinical stability were found between study groups (median 3 days, IQR 2-5 vs 3 days, IQR 2-5; p=0.47). No significant differences in PaO2/FiO2 (p=0.37), C reactive protein (p=0.23), tumour necrosis factor-α (p=0.58), interleukin 6 (IL-6; p=0.64), and IL-10 (p=0.61) levels at 48 h of hospitalisation were found between simvastatin and placebo groups. Similarly, transaminase and total creatine kinase levels were similar between study groups at 48 h of hospitalisation (p=0.19, 0.08 and 0.53, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that the use of simvastatin, 20 mg once daily for 4 days, since hospital admission did not reduce the time to clinical stability and the levels of inflammatory cytokines in hospitalised patients with CAP.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ISRCTN91327214.

Prediction of prognosis by markers in community-acquired pneumonia

Early identification of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) at risk of poor outcome is critical for defining site of care and may impact on hospital resource consumption and prognosis. The Pneumonia Severity Index and CURB-65 are clinical rules that accurately identify individuals at risk of death. However, these scores have some limitations. Therefore in recent years, increasing attention has been being paid to research on biomarkers, since they have the potential to resolve fundamental issues regarding prognostic prediction that cannot be readily addressed using CAP-specific scores. Nevertheless, the use of biomarkers in this context needs to be validated in prospective trials so as to elucidate how they can best be applied in practice. This review examines the usefulness of biomarkers, whether used alone or in conjunction with other clinical severity of illness scores, for identifying CAP patients at risk of short- and long-term mortality and for predicting both the need for intensive care unit admission and the potential for treatment failure.

Current clinical management of Legionnaires’ disease

Legionella pneumophila is increasingly recognized as a cause of both sporadic and epidemic community-acquired pneumonia. Clinical manifestations of Legionnaires' disease are not specific and current diagnostic scores are of limited use. Urinary antigen detection is an effective test for rapid diagnosis of infection caused by L. pneumophila serogroup 1. Improved outcomes regarding the time to defervescence, development of complications and length of stay, have been recently observed for patients treated with levofloxacin monotherapy. Current case-fatality rates for hospitalized patients with community-acquired Legionella pneumonia are lower than those traditionally reported for this infection. Effective preventive strategies are needed.

Advances in antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a major public health problem all over the world. The increasing number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a matter of concern for physicians when choosing antibiotic treatment in patients with CAP. This review focuses on the current recommendations of antibiotic treatment, recent information concerning antibiotic resistance of pathogens, and the advances in antibiotic therapy in the field of CAP.

RECENT FINDINGS

A significant increase in the frequency of resistance to the antibiotics commonly used against causative pathogens of CAP, such as β-lactams or macrolides, has been reported in recent years. At present, the prevalence of fluoroquinolone resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae remains low. Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 have been reported as causes of severe CAP. Several newly-developed antibiotics, including cepholosporins, ketolides and quinolones, present marked activity in vitro against the main causative pathogens of CAP. Many randomized controlled trials have demonstrated equivalent efficacy of the newer antibiotics compared with conventional antimicrobial therapy in mild-to-moderate CAP.

SUMMARY

An increase of resistance to the antibiotics used in CAP has been documented over the years. Several new antibiotics have been developed for treating CAP, with promising results. However, data regarding their efficacy and safety in patients with severe CAP are lacking.

Pneumococcal pneumonia - Are the new severity scores more accurate in predicting adverse outcomes?

INTRODUCTION

The site-of-care decision is one of the most important factors in the management of patients with community-acquired pneumonia. The severity scores are validated prognostic tools for community-acquired pneumonia mortality and treatment site decision. The aim of this paper was to compare the discriminatory power of four scores - the classic PSI and CURB65 ant the most recent SCAP and SMART-COP - in predicting major adverse events: death, ICU admission, need for invasive mechanical ventilation or vasopressor support in patients admitted with pneumococcal pneumonia.

METHODS

A five year retrospective study of patients admitted for pneumococcal pneumonia. Patients were stratified based on admission data and assigned to low-, intermediate-, and high-risk classes for each score. Results were obtained comparing low versus non-low risk classes.

RESULTS

We studied 142 episodes of hospitalization with 2 deaths and 10 patients needing mechanical ventilation and vasopressor support. The majority of patients were classified as low risk by all scores - we found high negative predictive values for all adverse events studied, the most negative value corresponding to the SCAP score. The more recent scores showed better accuracy for predicting ICU admission and need for ventilation or vasopressor support (mostly for the SCAP score with higher AUC values for all adverse events).

CONCLUSIONS

The rate of all adverse outcomes increased directly with increasing risk class in all scores. The new gravity scores appear to have a higher discriminatory power in all adverse events in our study, particularly, the SCAP score.

Community-acquired pneumonia during the first post-pandemic influenza season: a prospective, multicentre cohort study

Objectives

To determine the aetiology, clinical features and prognosis of CAP during the first post-pandemic influenza season. We also assessed the factors associated with severe disease and tested the ability of a scoring system for identifying influenza A (H1N1)pdm09-related pneumonia.

Methods

Prospective cohort study carried out at 10 tertiary hospitals of Spain. All adults hospitalised with CAP from December 01, 2010 to March 31, 2011 were analysed.

Results

A total of 747 adults with CAP required hospitalisation. The aetiology was determined in 315 (42.2%) patients, in whom 154 (21.9%) were due to bacteria, 125 (16.7%) were due to viruses and 36 (4.8%) were mixed (due to viruses and bacteria). The most frequently isolated bacteria were Streptococccus pneumoniae. Among patients with viral pneumonia, the most common organism identified were influenza A (H1N1)pdm09. Independent factors associated with severe disease were impaired consciousness, septic shock, tachypnea, hyponatremia, hypoxemia, influenza B, and influenza A (H1N1)pdm09. The scoring system evaluated did not differentiate reliably between patients with influenza A (H1N1)pdm09-related pneumonia and those with other aetiologies.

Conclusions

The frequency of bacterial and viral pneumonia during the first post-pandemic influenza season was similar. The main identified virus was influenza A (H1N1)pdm09, which was associated with severe disease. Although certain presenting clinical features may allow recognition of influenza A (H1N1)pdm09-related pneumonia, it is difficult to express them in a reliable scoring system.

Relationships among initial hospital triage, disease progression and mortality in community-acquired pneumonia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Appropriate triage of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) may improve morbidity, mortality and use of hospital resources. Worse outcomes from delayed intensive care unit (ICU) admission have long been suspected but have not been verified.

METHODS

In a retrospective study of consecutive patients with CAP admitted from 1996-2006 to the ICUs of a tertiary care hospital, we measured serial severity scores, intensive therapies received, ICU-free days, and 30-day mortality. Primary outcome was mortality. We developed a regression model of mortality with ward triage (and subsequent ICU transfer within 72 h) as the predictor, controlled by propensity for ward triage and radiographic progression.

RESULTS

Of 1059 hospital-admitted patients, 269 (25%) were admitted to the ICU during hospitalization. Of those, 167 were directly admitted to the ICU without current requirement for life support, while 61 (23%) were initially admitted to the hospital ward, 50 of those undergoing ICU transfer within 72 h. Ward triage was associated with increased mortality (OR 2.6, P = 0.056) after propensity adjustment. The effect was less (OR 2.2, P = 0.12) after controlling for radiographic progression. The effect probably increased (OR 4.1, P = 0.07) among patients with ≥ 3 severity predictors at admission.

CONCLUSIONS

Initial ward triage among patients transferred to the ICU is associated with twofold higher 30-day mortality. This effect is most apparent among patients with ≥ 3 severity predictors at admission and is attenuated by controlling for radiographic progression. Intensive monitoring of ward-admitted patients with CAP seems warranted. Further research is needed to optimize triage in CAP.

Microbiological diagnosis of community-acquired respiratory tract infections by nucleic acid detection

BACKGROUND

Microbiological diagnostic procedures have changed significantly over the last decade. Initially the implementation of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) resulted in improved detection tests for microbes that were difficult or even impossible to detect by conventional methods such as culture and serology, especially in community-acquired respiratory tract infections (CA-RTI). A further improvement was the development of real-time PCR, which allows end point detection and quantification, and many diagnostic laboratories have now implemented this powerful method.

OBJECTIVE

At present, new performant and convenient molecular tests have emerged targeting in parallel many viruses and bacteria responsible for lower and/or upper respiratory tract infections. The range of test formats and microbial agents detected is evolving very quickly and the added value of these new tests needs to be studied in terms of better use of antibiotics, better patient management, duration of hospitalization and overall costs.

CONCLUSIONS

Molecular tools for a better microbial documentation of CA-RTI are now available. Controlled studies are now required to address the relevance issue of these new methods, such as, for example, the role of some newly detected respiratory viruses or of the microbial DNA load in a particular patient at a particular time. The future challenge for molecular diagnosis will be to become easy to handle, highly efficient and cost-effective, delivering rapid results with a direct impact on clinical management.

Escherichia coli pneumonia in combination with fungal sinusitis and meningitis in a tsunami survivor after the Great East Japan Earthquake

Individuals who survive near drowning often suffer from complicated infections, including multi-organ and polymicrobial events. This pattern may be especially pronounced among patients exposed to infectious agents during catastrophic events like that of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the associated tsunami disaster. We report here on a patient who presented with Escherichia coli (E. coli) pneumonia in combination with fungal sinusitis and meningitis. A 73-year-old woman survived the tsunami that engulfed the Sanriku coast. By the time of hospital admission, the patient exhibited high fever, severe cough, and sputum production. Chest X-ray and CT scan showed consolidation in the left upper lobe. Administration of an antibacterial agent improved this pneumonia. However, the patient's consciousness was increasingly impaired. Brain CT showed the low-density lesions and partial high-density spot in the sinus, which suggests the fungal infection. MRI showed the inflammation in the sinus spread into the central nerve system. The examination of the cerebrospinal fluid showed the low glucose level, high mononuclear cell count, and highβ-D glucan level, the findings of which supported the diagnosis of fungal meningitis. Although the patient improved temporarily in response to combination treatment with anti-fungal agents, no further improvement was seen. In conclusion, this patient, who suffered from infections of pneumonia, sinusitis, and meningitis, presented a quite rare clinical progress. We propose that fungal infection should be taken into consideration in individuals who suffered near drowning, a profile expected to be frequent among tsunami survivors.

Retrospective epidemiological study for the characterization of community- acquired pneumonia and pneumococcal pneumonia in adults in a well-defined area of Badalona (Barcelona, Spain)

Background

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has large impact on direct healthcare costs, especially those derived from hospitalization. This study determines impact, clinical characteristics, outcome and economic consequences of CAP in the adult (≥18 years) population attended in 6 primary-care centers and 2 hospitals in Badalona (Spain) over a two-year period.

Methods

Medical records were identified by codes from the International Classification of Diseases in databases (January 1^st 2008-December 31^st 2009).

Results

A total of 581 patients with CAP (55.6% males, mean age 57.5 years) were identified. Prevalence: 0.64% (95% CI: 0.5%-0.7%); annual incidence: 3.0 cases/1,000 inhabitants (95% CI: 0.2-0.5). Up to 241 (41.5%) required hospitalization. Hospital admission was associated (p<0.002) with liver disease (OR=5.9), stroke (OR=3.6), dementia (OR=3.5), COPD (OR=2.9), diabetes mellitus (OR=1.9) and age (OR=1.1 per year). Length of stay (4.4±0.3 days) was associated with PSI score (β=0.195), in turn associated with age (r=0.827) and Charlson index (r=0.497). Microbiological tests were performed in all inpatients but only in 35% outpatients. Among patients with microbiological tests, results were positive in 51.7%, and among them, S pneumoniae was identified in 57.5% cases. Time to recovery was 29.9±17.2 days. Up to 7.5% inpatients presented complications, 0.8% required ICU admission and 19.1% readmission. Inhospital mortality rate was 2.5%. Adjusted mean total cost was €2,332.4/inpatient and €698.6/outpatient (p<0.001). Patients with pneumococcal CAP (n=107) showed higher comorbidity and hospitalization (76.6%), higher PSI score, larger time to recovery and higher overall costs among inpatients.

Conclusions

Strategies preventing CAP, thus reducing hospital admissions could likely produce substantial costs savings in addition to the reduction of CAP burden.

Efficacy and tolerability of sequential intravenous/oral moxifloxacin therapy in pneumonia: results of the first post-marketing surveillance study with intravenous moxifloxacin in hospital practice

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of sequential intravenous (IV)/oral therapy with moxifloxacin in pneumonia under general hospital treatment conditions.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with pneumonia were documented in this non-interventional multicentre study. The patients were treated with IV moxifloxacin or moxifloxacin sequential therapy (IV and oral) in hospitals throughout Germany. Exclusion criteria were limited to the contraindications mentioned in the summary of product characteristics. The participating hospital-based physicians documented the patients' demography, anamnesis, antibiotic pretreatment, concomitant diseases and medications. Moxifloxacin therapy and symptom status were recorded daily up to the ninth day and on the last day of treatment. The physicians assessed the efficacy and tolerability of IV moxifloxacin therapy and reported all adverse events observed within the treatment period.

RESULTS

The 1749 documented patients had a mean age of 66.2 (SD 15.5) years; 56.4% were males and 43.5% females. The majority (99.3%) were treated with moxifloxacin 400mg once daily. On average, moxifloxacin was given for 7.6 days (SD 3.2). In cases of sequential therapy (78.9% of patients), IV moxifloxacin was switched to oral moxifloxacin after a mean of 4.1 days (SD 1.8). Moxifloxacin produced a significant clinical improvement in 58.2% of patients by day 3 of therapy, in 84.2% by day 5 and in 89.4% by day 7. Recovery occurred in 27.0% of patients by day 5, in 54.0% by day 7 and in 87.0% by day 14. It took a mean of 3.4 days (SD 1.9) until improvement and 7.2 days (SD 3.0) until cure. Overall efficacy of IV moxifloxacin therapy was rated by the physicians as 'very good' or 'good' in 82.9% of patients. Tolerability was rated in 94.3% of patients as 'very good' or 'good'. Adverse events were recorded for 92 (5.3%) patients, but events were considered by the attending physician to be related to moxifloxacin therapy for only 45 patients (2.6%).

CONCLUSIONS

IV moxifloxacin shows high efficacy in the treatment of pneumonia under routine clinical treatment conditions. IV moxifloxacin relieves pneumonia-associated symptoms rapidly and allows an early switch to oral administration. Because of its high efficacy and very good safety and tolerability profile, moxifloxacin delivers excellent benefits as first-line therapy for pneumonia.

Optimizing Treatment Outcomes in Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a life-threatening condition that requires intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Clinical presentation is characterized by the presence of respiratory failure, severe sepsis, or septic shock. Severe CAP accounts for approximately 5-35% of hospital-treated cases of pneumonia with the majority of patients having underlying comorbidities. The most common pathogens associated with this disease are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Legionella spp., Haemophilus influenzae, and Gram-negative enteric rods. Microbial investigation is probably helpful in the individual case but is likely to be more useful for defining local antimicrobial policies. The early and rapid initiation of empiric antimicrobial treatment is critical for a favorable outcome. It should include intravenous beta-lactam along with either a macrolide or a fluoroquinolone. Modifications of this basic regimen should be considered in the presence of distinct comorbid conditions and risk factors for specific pathogens. Other promising nonantimicrobial new therapies are currently being investigated. The assessment of severity of CAP helps physicians to identify patients who could be managed safely in an ambulatory setting. It may also play a crucial role in decisions about length of hospital stay and time of switching to oral antimicrobial therapy in different groups at risk. The most important adverse prognostic factors include advancing age, male sex, poor health of patient, acute respiratory failure, severe sepsis, septic shock, progressive radiographic course, bacteremia, signs of disease progression within the first 48-72 hours, and the presence of several different pathogens such as S. pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Gram-negative enteric bacilli, or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, some important topics of severity assessment remain controversial, including the definition of severe CAP. Prediction rules for complications or death from CAP, although far from perfect, should identify the majority of patients with severe CAP and be used to support decision-making by the physician. They may also contribute to the evaluation of processes and outcomes of care for patients with CAP.

Prediction of severe community-acquired pneumonia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction

Severity assessment and site-of-care decisions for patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are pivotal for patients' safety and adequate allocation of resources. Late admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) has been associated with increased mortality in CAP. We aimed to review and meta-analyze systematically the performance of clinical prediction rules to identify CAP patients requiring ICU admission or intensive treatment.

Methods

We systematically searched Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials registry for clinical trials evaluating the performance of prognostic rules to predict the need for ICU admission, intensive treatment, or the occurrence of early mortality in patients with CAP.

Results

Sufficient data were available to perform a meta-analysis on eight scores: PSI, CURB-65, CRB-65, CURB, ATS 2001, ATS/IDSA 2007, SCAP score, and SMART-COP. The estimated AUC of PSI and CURB-65 scores to predict ICU admission was 0.69. Among scores proposed for prediction of ICU admission, ATS-2001 and ATS/IDSA 2007 scores had better operative characteristics, with a sensitivity of 70% (CI, 61 to 77) and 84% (48 to 97) and a specificity of 90% (CI, 82 to 95) and 78% (46 to 93), but their clinical utility is limited by the use of major criteria.

ATS/IDSA 2007 minor criteria have good specificity (91% CI, 84 to 95) and moderate sensitivity (57% CI, 46 to 68). SMART-COP and SCAP score have good sensitivity (79% CI, 69 to 97, and 94% CI, 88 to 97) and moderate specificity (64% CI, 30 to 66, and 46% CI, 27 to 66). Major differences in populations, prognostic factor measurement, and outcome definition limit comparison. Our analysis also highlights a high degree of heterogeneity among the studies.

Conclusions

New severity scores for predicting the need for ICU or intensive treatment in patients with CAP, such as ATS/IDSA 2007 minor criteria, SCAP score, and SMART-COP, have better discriminative performances compared with PSI and CURB-65. High negative predictive value is the most consistent finding among the different prediction rules. These rules should be considered an aid to clinical judgment to guide ICU admission in CAP patients.

[The routine use of the Pneumonia Severity Index in the emergency department: effect on process-of-care indicators and results in community acquired pneumonia]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate process-of-care indicators (inappropriate hospitalisation, suitability and early antibiotic treatment) and outcome indicators (length of hospital stay, hospital readmission, ICU admission, and mortality) in the management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) when the SEPAR/IDSA guidelines were applied.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

An observational retrospective study conducted on patients diagnosed with CAP during the first semester of 2007 and 2008 (186 and 161 patients, respectively) in the emergency unit of a general hospital. Differences in the process-of-care and outcome indicators between 2007 and 2008 (with and without the Pneumonia Severity Index [PSI]) were evaluated. Moreover, the indicators were compared with those obtained in 2006 (110 patients), when the current guidelines were those of SEQ/ATS.

RESULTS

The SEPAR/IDSA guidelines improved the following process-of-care indicators: appropriateness of treatment, unjustified hospital readmission (39.4% in 2006 vs. 8.5% in 2007 [P<.001], and 17,2% in 2008 [P=.005]), and early treatment. However, outcome indicators did not change. In 2008, a decrease in the mortality of the patients of risk classes IV-V in which the PSI had been estimated was observed in comparison with the patients in which the PSI was not estimated (2.3% vs. 28.3%; P<.001). Moreover, the mortality rate of the patients of risk classes IV-V in which the PSI had been estimated was lower than those measured using the SEQ/ATS guidelines (22.7%; P=.003).

CONCLUSION

SEPAR/IDSA guidelines decreased the unjustified hospital readmission. In the second year of its application an increase in the number of patients who received early treatment, and a decrease of the mortality rate of the patients of risk classes IV-V in which the PSI had been estimated, were also observed.

The impact of guidelines on the outcomes of community-acquired and ventilator-associated pneumonia

The correct implementation of the current guidelines for the management of community-acquired pneumonia is associated with less mortality, faster clinical stabilization, and lower costs in these patients. By contrast, implementing the current guidelines for the management of hospital-acquired pneumonia has been followed by an increase in initially adequate antibiotic treatment but has not been accompanied by a consistently improved outcome in patients.

Should patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease be vaccinated against pneumococcal diseases?

Over the past 15 years, no fewer than ten meta-analyses or systematic literature reviews of the efficacy of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in adults have been conducted, including one specifically in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Their general conclusion is that it is effective in preventing invasive infections, but no conclusions can be drawn for high-risk patients (owing to a highly polymorphic population). Opinions are divided as to its efficacy in pneumonia, with the studies being too heterogeneous to carry sufficient statistical weight. Most conclude that there is no impact on mortality. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients are frequently described as an at-risk population, but controlled studies in such patients are very limited, leaving only case-control or cohort studies to provide information on which to base any decision. The aim of this article is first to discuss the place of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination in this risk population, which is increasing in prevalence and in which pneumococcal infections play a considerable role. Pending other vaccines, the polysaccharide vaccine is currently the only preventive approach that has demonstrated an effect, even if it does not match up to expectations. The possibilities of alternative vaccines, such as conjugate vaccines in the near future and perhaps protein vaccines at a later date, will be considered.

Severity assessment tools to guide ICU admission in community-acquired pneumonia: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine if severity assessment tools can be used to guide decisions regarding intensive care unit (ICU) admission of patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

METHODS

A search of PUBMED and EMBASE (1980-2009) was conducted to identify studies reporting pneumonia severity scores and prediction of ICU admission. Two reviewers independently collected data and assessed study quality. Performance characteristics were pooled using a random-effects model.

RESULTS

Sufficient data were collected to perform a meta-analysis on five current scoring systems: the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI), the CURB65 score, the CRB65 score, the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2001 criteria and the Infectious Disease Society of America/ATS (IDSA/ATS) 2007 criteria. The analysis was limited due to large variations in the ICU admission criteria, ICU admission rates and patient characteristics between different studies and different healthcare systems. In the pooled analysis, PSI, CURB65 and CRB65 performed similarly in terms of sensitivity and specificity across a range of cut-offs. Patients in CURB65 group 0 were at lowest risk of ICU admission (negative likelihood ratio 0.14; 95% confidence interval 0.06-0.34) while the ATS 2001 criteria had the highest positive likelihood ratio (7.05; 95% confidence interval 4.39-11.3).

CONCLUSION

Large variations exist in the use of ICU resources between different studies and different healthcare systems. Scoring systems designed to predict 30-day mortality perform less well when ICU admission is taken into account. Further studies of dedicated ICU admission scores are required.