We established a diagnostic model to predict acute Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumonia) infection in elderly Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients. We divided 456 patients into acute and non-acute M. pneumoniae infection groups. Binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to establish a predictive model. The following independent factors were identified: age ⋝ 70 years; serum cTNT level ⋝ 0.05 ng/mL; lobar consolidation; mediastinal lymphadenopathy; and antibody titer in the acute phase ⋝ 1:40. The area under the ROC curve of the model was 0.923 and a score of ⋝ 7 score predicted acute M. pneumoniae infection in elderly patients with CAP. The predictive model developed in this study has high diagnostic accuracy for the identification of elderly acute M. pneumoniae infection.
Aged ; Community-Acquired Infections ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Models, Biological ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma ; diagnosis ; Predictive Value of Tests

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the third leading cause of death worldwide and one of the most commonly infectious diseases. Its epidemiological characteristics vary with host and immune status, and corresponding pathogen spectrums migrate over time and space distribution. Meanwhile, with the outbreak of COVID-19, some unconventional treatment strategies are on the rise. This article reviewed the epidemiological characteristics, pathogen spectrum and treatment direction of CAP in China over the years, and aimed to provide guidance for the diagnosis and treatment of CAP in clinical practice.
Humans ; COVID-19 ; Pneumonia/diagnosis* ; Community-Acquired Infections/drug therapy* ; Causality ; Risk Factors

Community-acquired pneumonia is common and important infectious disease in adults. This work represents an update to 2009 treatment guideline for community-acquired pneumonia in Korea. The present clinical practice guideline provides revised recommendations on the appropriate diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of community-acquired pneumonia in adults aged 19 years or older, taking into account the current situation regarding community-acquired pneumonia in Korea. This guideline may help reduce the difference in the level of treatment between medical institutions and medical staff, and enable efficient treatment. It may also reduce antibiotic resistance by preventing antibiotic misuse against acute lower respiratory tract infection in Korea.
Adult* ; Communicable Diseases ; Community-Acquired Infections ; Diagnosis ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Humans ; Korea ; Medical Staff ; Pneumonia* ; Respiratory Tract Infections

Community-acquired pneumonia is common and important infectious disease in adults. This work represents an update to 2009 treatment guideline for community-acquired pneumonia in Korea. The present clinical practice guideline provides revised recommendations on the appropriate diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of community-acquired pneumonia in adults aged 19 years or older, taking into account the current situation regarding community-acquired pneumonia in Korea. This guideline may help reduce the difference in the level of treatment between medical institutions and medical staff, and enable efficient treatment. It may also reduce antibiotic resistance by preventing antibiotic misuse against acute lower respiratory tract infection in Korea.
Adult* ; Communicable Diseases ; Community-Acquired Infections ; Diagnosis ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Humans ; Korea ; Medical Staff ; Pneumonia* ; Respiratory Tract Infections

This study explored a novel systemic community-based model for detecting and managing people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used in this study. A quantitative questionnaire investigation was conducted in a sample of 1192 subjects which were randomly selected from two areas with high HIV prevalence, Xiangfan City and Shiyan City of Hubei Province, China. Twenty-two medical and health service staffs were interviewed by semi-structured questionnaire focusing on awareness, status, problems, and suggestions about community-based Voluntary Counseling and Testing and Provider Initiated Testing and Counseling (VCT/PITC). And they were organized to discuss about the aforementioned issues in Xiangfan City and Shiyan City, respectively. Our results showed that the accessibility and availability of the general VCT/PITC were bad. About 28.3% had known and only 4.9% had made use of VCT/PITC. Developing community-based VCT/PITC had some special advantages that can overcome some existing problems to remedy the aforementioned defects. We are led to conclude that, to maximize the availability and uptake rate of the VCT/PITC, we plan to detect PLWHA by developing the community-based VCT/PITC through 4 paths. Then we establish the community HIV health care center constituted of 8 sectors to provide an overall management. Thus, we can effectively detect and manage the PLWHA with a new systemic community-based model.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; China ; Community Health Services ; HIV Infections ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Child ; Community-Acquired Infections ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; therapy ; Humans ; Pneumonia ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; therapy

OBJECTIVE: To study the significance of plasma neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) and its markers in the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children. METHODS: A total of 160 children with CAP were enrolled as the CAP group, and 50 healthy children were enrolled the control group. According to disease severity, the CAP group was further divided into a mild CAP subgroup with 137 children and a severe CAP subgroup with 23 children. According to the pathogen, the CAP group was further divided into a bacterial pneumonia subgroup with 78 children, a Mycoplasma pneumonia subgroup with 35 children, and a viral pneumonia subgroup with 47 children. The levels of plasma NET and its markers [antibacterial peptide (LL-37), extracellular free DNA (cfDNA), and deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I)] were measured. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of each index in diagnosing CAP and assessing its severity. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the CAP group had significant increases in the levels of NET, LL-37, and cfDNA and a significant reduction in the activity of DNase I (P<0.05). Compared with the mild CAP subgroup, the severe CAP subgroup had significantly higher levels of NET, LL-37 and cfDNA and a significantly lower activity of DNase I (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the levels of NET, LL-37, and cfDNA and the activity of DNase I among the bacterial pneumonia, Mycoplasma pneumonia, and viral pneumonia subgroups (P>0.05). In the CAP group, plasma NET levels were positively correlated with white blood cell count (WBC), percentage of neutrophils, and serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin and tumor necrosis factor-α (r=0.166, 0.168, 0.275, 0.181 and 0.173 respectively, P<0.05); LL-37 and cfDNA levels were positively correlated with WBC (r=0.186 and 0.338 respectively, P<0.05) and CRP levels (r=0.309 and 0.274 respectively, P<0.05); the activity of DNase I was negatively correlated with CRP levels (r=-0.482, P<0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that NET, LL-37, cfDNA, and DNase I had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.844, 0.648, 0.727, and 0.913 respectively in the diagnosis of CAP, with optimal cut-off values of 182.89, 46.26 ng/mL, 233.13 ng/mL, and 0.39 U/mL respectively, sensitivities of 88.12%, 35.63%, 54.37%, and 91.25% respectively, and specificities of 74.00%, 92.00%, 86.00%, and 76.00% respectively. In the assessment of the severity of CAP, NET, LL-37, cfDNA, and DNase I had an AUC of 0.873, 0.924, 0.820, and 0.778 respectively, with optimal cut-off values of 257.7, 49.11 ng/mL, 252.54 ng/mL, and 0.29 U/mL respectively, sensitivities of 83.21%, 86.96%, 78.26%, and 95.65% respectively, and specificities of 78.26%, 83.94%, 76.64%, and 56.93% respectively. CONCLUSIONS Plasma NET and its related markers have a certain value in diagnosing CAP and assessing its severity in children.
Biomarkers ; C-Reactive Protein ; Child ; Community-Acquired Infections ; diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Extracellular Traps ; Humans ; Pneumonia ; ROC Curve

Primary community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) endocarditis has rarely been reported in healthy individuals without risk factors, such as skin and soft tissue infections, and intravenous drug abuse. We describe a case of infective endocarditis by CA-MRSA (ST72-PVL negative-SCCmec IVA) in previously healthy individuals with no underlying medical condition and CA-MRSA colonization in the family.
Adult ; Community-Acquired Infections/microbiology/transmission ; Endocarditis/*microbiology ; Family ; Female ; Humans ; *Methicillin Resistance ; Staphylococcal Infections/*diagnosis/drug therapy/*transmission ; Staphylococcus aureus/*drug effects

INTRODUCTIONCommunity-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has emerged worldwide. In contrast to healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA), CA-MRSA isolates are usually susceptible to multiple non-beta-lactam antibiotics and cause a distinct spectrum of infections in epidemiologically disparate populations - in particular, cutaneous abscesses, necrotising fasciitis and necrotising pneumonia. They arise from a broader genetic background, and possess differing virulence genes. We aim to describe the distribution of different molecular subtypes of CA-MRSA among various regions and discuss briefly the implications of CA-MRSA from a local perspective.

METHODSLiterature review of articles on CA-MRSA, focusing mainly on reports where the genetic background of isolates had been analysed using multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). Singapore data were obtained from the local CA-MRSA database.

RESULTSMLST analysis demonstrated the presence of epidemic subtypes of CA-MRSA within most geographic areas. In parts of the United States, community MRSA infections currently exceed those caused by their methicillin-susceptible counterparts. In Singapore, CA-MRSA infections are increasing, predominantly as a result of the spread of ST30 clones.

CONCLUSIONAvailable evidence suggests that the emergence of MRSA from the community is not going to be a transient phenomenon. Local guidelines for dealing with this phenomenon at both therapeutic and preventive levels are needed prior to the potential development of a situation mirroring that of meso-endemic HA-MRSA in local hospitals or CA-MRSA epidemics in parts of USA.

Bacterial Typing Techniques ; Community-Acquired Infections ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Cross Infection ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; Humans ; Methicillin Resistance ; Risk Factors ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Staphylococcal Infections ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Staphylococcus aureus ; classification ; drug effects

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical value of the expression of neutrophil surface CD64 in the diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia in children.

METHODSNinety-eight children with community acquired pneumonia were recruited into the study and were classified into three groups according to pathogene: bacterial pneumonia (n=48), viral pneumonia (n=29) and Mycoplasmal pneumonia (n=21). Twenty healthy children were enrolled as controls. The bacterial infection group was subdivided into mild infection (n=36) and severe infection groups (n=12). The levels of peripheral blood neutrophil CD64 were measured using flow cytometry. Dynamic changes of C-reactive protein were also detected for each patient.

RESULTSThe CD64 index and CRP levels in the bacterial pneumonia group were significantly higher than in the other three groups (P<0.05). The CD64 index in the severe bacterial infection group was significantly higher than in the mild group (P<0.05). After antibiotic treatment, expression of CD64 in the severe bacterial infection group decreased significantly (P<0.05). The CD64 index was positively correlated with CRP value (r=0.545, P<0.01). ROC curve analysis showed that the threshold of CD64 and CRP was 2.8 and 8 mg/L respectively. Specificity of CD64 index (90%) was much higher than CRP (74%).

CONCLUSIONSThe determination of peripheral blood neutrophil CD64 contributes to the early diagnosis of pulmonary bacterial infection and the evaluation of anti-infection effect.

C-Reactive Protein ; analysis ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Community-Acquired Infections ; blood ; diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Neutrophils ; chemistry ; Pneumonia, Bacterial ; blood ; diagnosis ; ROC Curve ; Receptors, IgG ; blood