Adherence to Treatment Guideline Improves Patient Outcomes in a Prospective Cohort of Adults Hospitalized for Community-Acquired Pneumonia

The management of community-acquired pneumonia in adults at a rural regional hospital in KwaZulu Natal

BACKGROUND

Pneumonia stands as a significant global contributor to mortality, particularly in South Africa, where it ranks as the second leading cause of death. The country's high prevalence of HIV infection compounds this issue, significantly increasing mortality rates associated with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to audit CAP patient management at a regional rural hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.

METHOD

A retrospective review of patient files from September to December 2016 was undertaken. Data extraction from clinical files, conducted according to inclusion criteria, was transferred to a data collection sheet and analyzed using SPSS version 21.

RESULTS

The review encompassed 124 patient files over four months, revealing that 117 (94.4%) patients were not managed by the Standard Treatment Guidelines and Essential Medicines List for South Africa. Of the patients admitted with CAP, 54% were HIV positive, and 49 (39.5%) patients succumbed to the illness. Notably, none of the patients underwent assessment using a severity score.

CONCLUSION

The findings underscore a need for more adherence to South African guidelines for managing CAP among staff at the rural regional hospital. This leads to severe consequences, exemplified by the high mortality rate. Urgent intervention is required to incorporate severity assessment scores into pneumonia evaluations, thus enabling appropriate clinical management.

CONTRIBUTION

This study sheds light on the significant impact of CAP within the South African hospital context, delineating critical gaps in clinical care and emphasizing the imperative to address clinical inertia.

What's the low back pain problem represented to be? An analysis of discourse of the Australian policy directives

PURPOSE

Low back pain (LBP) directives provide information about how LBP should be managed, communicated and navigated in complex health systems, making them an important form of policy. This study aimed to examine how LBP is problematised (represented) in Australian directives.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We employed an analysis of discourse of LBP directives drawing on Bacchi's "What's the problem represented to be?" policy problematisation approach.

RESULTS

Our analysis suggests that LBP is problematised as a symptom that tends to improve when individuals take responsibility for themselves, but may require care at times. The way in which LBP is represented in the directives excludes important aspects, such as the uncertainties of scientific knowledge, paradigms other than (post)positivist, multimorbidity, social and structural determinants of health.

CONCLUSION

LBP directives may benefit from problematisations of LBP that consider the ongoing nature of LBP and broader contextual factors that impact on both LBP outcomes and care, beyond individual responsibility. Consideration of a wider range of paradigms and expanded evidence base may also be beneficial, as these are likely to enable individuals, clinicians and the Australian healthcare system to address LBP while dealing with its complexities, enabling real-world changes to lessen the LBP burden.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONHealthcare professionals who work with people who experience low back pain (LBP) may benefit from critically reflecting about discourses embedded in policy directives.Healthcare professionals may consider engaging in policy changes processes to expand the discourses on which LBP policy directives rely.Healthcare professionals' ability to enact policy recommendations may be enhanced by consideration of the fluctuating nature of LBP, uncertainties, multimorbidity and determinants of health.

Interventions to improve outcomes in community-acquired pneumonia

INTRODUCTION

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common infection associated with high morbimortality and a highly deleterious impact on patients' quality of life and functionality. We comprehensively review the factors related to the host, the causative microorganism, the therapeutic approach and the organization of health systems (e.g. setting for care and systems for allocation) that might have an impact on CAP-associated outcomes. Our main aims are to discuss the most controversial points and to provide some recommendations that may guide further research and the management of patients with CAP, in order to improve their outcomes, beyond mortality.

AREA COVERED

In this review, we aim to provide a critical account of potential measures to improve outcomes of CAP and the supporting evidence from observational studies and clinical trials.

EXPERT OPINION

CAP is associated with high mortality and a highly deleterious impact on patients' quality of life. To improve CAP-associated outcomes, it is important to understand the factors related to the patient, etiology, therapeutics, and the organization of health systems.

Short-Term Readmission Following Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background:Community-acquired pneumonia continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Hospital readmissions following community-acquired pneumonia are linked to significant cost of care and medical burdens. This study aimed to determine the incidence and reasons for readmission as well as to assess factors associated with short-term hospital readmission among community-acquired pneumonia patients. Methods:A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted on 582 medical records of community-acquired pneumonia inpatients from December 2018 to December 2019 at an 800-bed tertiary hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We collected data on patient characteristics, pneumonia severity at hospital admission, microbiology and antibiotic resistance, appropriateness of empiric antibiotic therapies, and the readmissions information. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with 30-day hospital readmission. Results: Of the 582 hospitalized community-acquired pneumonia patients, 11.9% were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days. About half of the cases (43.5%) were due to pneumonia. Multidrug-resistant bacteria accounted for 43.2% of the pathogen isolates. A high Charlson comorbidity index (aOR, 1.40; CI 95%, 1.08-1.82) and multidrug-resistant infection (aOR, 2.63; CI 95%, 1.05-6.56) were associated with higher odds of all-cause readmission. Conclusions:Hospital readmissions within 30 days occurred frequently among community-acquired pneumonia inpatients, and the most common reason for readmission recorded was pneumonia-related. Monitoring closely patients with multimorbidity or multidrug-resistant infections may improve treatment outcomes.

Host inflammatory response is the major marker of severe respiratory syncytial virus infection in older adults

OBJECTIVES

We aim to study the viral kinetics and host inflammatory response of RSV infection in older adults, and their correlation with disease severity.

METHODS

We performed a prospective observational study in adults with RSV infection. We serially collected nasal-throat swabs for quantification of RSV-A and RSV-B viral load, and peripheral blood samples for measurement of cytokine/chemokine concentrations. The study endpoints were (i) requiring supplemental oxygen therapy, and (ii) non-invasive ventilation, intensive care, or died within 30 days of admission. We performed multivariable logistic regression models to identify independent variables for severe disease.

RESULTS

We enrolled 71 hospitalized patients and 10 outpatients treated for RSV infection (median age 75 years, 51% male, and 74% with comorbidities). Among hospitalized patients, 61% required supplemental oxygen therapy, and 18% had severe disease requiring non-invasive ventilation or intensive care, or died within 30 days. Inflammatory cytokine/chemokines IL-6, CXCL8/IL-8, CXCL9/MIG and CXCL10/IP-10 increased significantly during the acute phase of illness. IL-6 concentration was independently associated with severe disease after adjusting for confounding factors. RSV viral load was not associated with disease severity throughout the course of illness.

CONCLUSION

Host inflammatory response is a major marker of severe disease in older adults with RSV infection.

How trustworthy guidelines can impact outcomes

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

If developed using rigorous methods and produced in a timely manner, clinical practice guidelines have the potential to improve patient outcomes. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the challenges involved in generating reliable clinical guidance, it has also provided an opportunity to address these challenges.

RECENT FINDINGS

New research addressing drugs for COVID-19 is being produced at unprecedented rates. Incorporating this new knowledge into patient care can be daunting for the average clinician. In collaboration with the BMJ and MAGIC, the WHO has developed a living guideline initiative with the goal of providing rapid and trustworthy clinical guidance in response to practice-changing evidence. As new evidence becomes available, it is incorporated into a living network meta-analysis that informs these guidelines, which are iteratively updated. Until this point, the group has generated guidelines addressing the use of corticosteroids, remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, and ivermectin for COVID-19.

SUMMARY

We provide an example of how rapid and rigorous guidelines can be accomplished, even in the setting of a pandemic, capitalizing on expertise, large and dedicated teams, and focused scope. We highlight the benefits of multifaceted knowledge dissemination through multiple formats to ensure global dissemination and in order to maximize impact.

Antibiotic prescription consistent with guidelines in emergency department is associated with 30-day survival in severe community-acquired pneumonia

BACKGROUND

The selection of initial empirical antibiotics is an important issue in the treatment of severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). This study aimed to investigate whether empirical antibiotic prescription concordant with guidelines in the emergency department (ED) affects 30-day mortality in patients with severe CAP.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis of adult patients with severe CAP who were hospitalized in the ED. Severe CAP was defined according to the criteria of the 2007 Infectious Diseases Society of America/American Thoracic Society guidelines. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they were prescribed empirical antibiotics concordant with guidelines. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was performed to identify the independent association between the prescription of initial empirical antibiotics concordant with the guidelines and 30-day mortality. Propensity score matching was performed to reduce selection bias between groups and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to analyze the time-to-event of 30-day survival.

RESULTS

In total, 630 patients were hospitalized in the ED for severe CAP, and 179 (28.4%) died within 30 days. Antibiotics consistent with guidelines were prescribed to 359 (57.0%) patients. The 30-day mortality was significantly higher in the guideline-discordant group (p = 0.003) and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analysis revealed that the prescription of antibiotics discordant with the guidelines was independently associated with 30-day mortality (hazard ratio 1.43, 95% CI 1.05-1.93). After propensity score matching, there were 255 patients in each group. The 30-day mortality was lower in the group prescribed guideline-concordant antibiotics than in the group prescribed guideline-discordant antibiotics (23.9% vs. 33.3%, p = 0.024). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that antibiotic prescription concordant with the guidelines resulted in higher survival rates at 30 days (p = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of antibiotic prescription consistent with guidelines for severe CAP seemed to be low in the ED, and this variable was independently associated with 30-day survival.

Evidence-based public policy making for medicines across countries: findings and implications for the future

Aim: Global expenditure on medicines is rising up to 6% per year driven by increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and new premium priced medicines for cancer, orphan diseases and other complex areas. This is difficult to sustain without reforms. Methods: Extensive narrative review of published papers and contextualizing the findings to provide future guidance. Results: New models are being introduced to improve the managed entry of new medicines including managed entry agreements, fair pricing approaches and monitoring prescribing against agreed guidance. Multiple measures have also successfully been introduced to improve the prescribing of established medicines. This includes encouraging greater prescribing of generics and biosimilars versus originators and patented medicines in a class to conserve resources without compromising care. In addition, reducing inappropriate antibiotic utilization. Typically, multiple measures are the most effective. Conclusion: Multiple measures will be needed to attain and retain universal healthcare.

Persistence of Pneumococcal Serotype 3 in Adult Pneumococcal Disease in Hong Kong

The epidemiology of hospitalised pneumococcal disease in adults following the introduction of universal childhood pneumococcal immunisation in 2009 was assessed. Culture-confirmed Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) from adults hospitalised between 2009 to 2017 were examined. The cases were categorised into invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and pneumonia (bacteraemic, non-bacteraemic, and that associated with other lung conditions). The isolates were serotyped and antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined by microbroth dilution. Patient characteristics, comorbidities, and outcomes were analysed. Seven hundred and seventy-four patients (mean age, 67.7 years, SD ± 15.6) were identified, and IPD was diagnosed in 110 (14.2%). The most prevalent serotype, 19F, was replaced by serotype 3 over time. Penicillin and cefotaxime non-susceptibilities were high at 54.1% and 39.5% (meningitis breakpoints), 19.9% and 25.5% (non-meningitis breakpoints), respectively. The overall 30-day mortality rate was 7.8% and 20.4% for IPD. Age ≥ 75 years (OR:4.6, CI:1.3–17.0, p < 0.02), presence of any complications (OR:4.1, CI:1.02–16.3, p < 0.05), pleural effusion (OR:6.7, CI:1.2–39.4, p < 0.03) and intensive care unit (ICU) admission (OR:9.0, CI:1.3–63.4, p < 0.03) were independent predictors of 30-day mortality. Pneumococcal disease by PCV 13 covered serotypes; in particular, 19F and 3 are still prominent in adults. Strengthening targeted adult vaccination may be necessary in order to reduce disease burden.

Assessment of adherence to pneumonia guidelines and its determinants in an ambulatory care clinic in Ghana: findings and implications for the future

BACKGROUND

Adherence to local standard guidelines is seen as a pragmatic way to measure and improve the quality of future prescribing in ambulatory care to reduce morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate adherence to the Ghana Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs) for the empirical antibiotic treatment of ambulatory care patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in a region in Ghana and factors associated with it.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a checklist to collect data from the hospital electronic database, which included sociodemographic details, payment type and clinical information of all ambulatory patients attending Keta Municipal Hospital, diagnosed and managed for CAP from September 2018 to January 2019. Prescriptions were assessed for adherence to the Ghana STG based on choice of antibiotics. A χ2 test and multiple logistic regression were subsequently conducted.

RESULTS

A total of 1929 patient records with diagnosis of CAP within the study period at the ambulatory clinic were identified. The overall rate of adherence to the Ghana STG was 32.50% (n = 627). From the patient records collected, 62.50% were female, 41.84% were children (0-12 years), and 97.15% had a valid national health insurance status. Adherence was associated with the duration of antibiotic prescribing, number of additional antibiotics prescribed and some patients' clinical characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

The rate of adherence to Ghana STG among the study population was low. Efforts must be made to train and encourage prescribers to follow empirical guidelines to reduce inappropriate selection of antibiotics in the ambulatory care settings.