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

Few studies have described the key features and prognostic roles of lung microbiota in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP). We prospectively enrolled consecutive SCAP patients admitted to ICU. Bronchoscopy was performed at bedside within 48 h of ICU admission, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was applied to the collected bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The primary outcome was clinical improvements defined as a decrease of 2 categories and above on a 7-category ordinal scale within 14 days following bronchoscopy. Sixty-seven patients were included. Multivariable permutational multivariate analysis of variance found that positive bacteria lab test results had the strongest independent association with lung microbiota (R² = 0.033; P = 0.018), followed by acute kidney injury (AKI; R² = 0.032; P = 0.011) and plasma MIP-1β level (R² = 0.027; P = 0.044). Random forest identified that the families Prevotellaceae, Moraxellaceae, and Staphylococcaceae were the biomarkers related to the positive bacteria lab test results. Multivariable Cox regression showed that the increase in α-diversity and the abundance of the families Prevotellaceae and Actinomycetaceae were associated with clinical improvements. The positive bacteria lab test results, AKI, and plasma MIP-1β level were associated with patients' lung microbiota composition on ICU admission. The families Prevotellaceae and Actinomycetaceae on admission predicted clinical improvements.
Acute Kidney Injury/complications* ; Bacteria/classification* ; Chemokine CCL4/blood* ; Community-Acquired Infections/microbiology* ; Humans ; Lung ; Microbiota/genetics* ; Pneumonia, Bacterial/diagnosis* ; Prognosis ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics*

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

INTRODUCTIONPneumonia is associated with considerable mortality. However, there is limited information on age-specific prognostic factors for death from pneumonia.

METHODSPatients hospitalised with a diagnosis of pneumonia through the emergency department were stratified into three age groups: 18-64 years, 65-84 years and ≥ 85 years. Multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were conducted to evaluate prognostic factors for mortality and the performance of pneumonia severity scoring tools for mortality prediction.

RESULTSA total of 1,902 patients were enrolled (18-64 years: 614 [32.3%]; 65-84 years: 944 [49.6%]; ≥ 85 years: 344 [18.1%]). Mortality rates increased with age (18-64 years: 7.3%; 65-84 years: 16.1%; ≥ 85 years: 29.7%; p < 0.001). Malignancy and tachycardia were prognostic of mortality among patients aged 18-64 years. Male gender, malignancy, congestive heart failure and eight other parameters reflecting acute disease severity were associated with mortality among patients aged 65-84 years. For patients aged ≥ 85 years, altered mental status, tachycardia, blood urea nitrogen, hypoxaemia, arterial pH and pleural effusion were significantly predictive of mortality. The Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) was more sensitive than CURB-65 (confusion, uraemia, respiratory rate ≥ 30 per minute, low blood pressure, age ≥ 65 years) for mortality prediction across all age groups.

CONCLUSIONThe predictive effect of prognostic factors for mortality varied among patients with pneumonia from the different age groups. PSI performed significantly better than CURB-65 for mortality prediction, but its discriminative power decreased with advancing age.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Algorithms ; Community-Acquired Infections ; diagnosis ; mortality ; Female ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Patient Admission ; Pneumonia ; diagnosis ; mortality ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prognosis ; ROC Curve ; Risk Factors ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Severity of Illness Index ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Young Adult

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is defined as bacterial infections that occur in patients with cirrhosis and ascites without any significant intraperitoneal infection, accounting for approximately 10–30% of bacterial infections in hospitalized patients. SBP develops in patients with liver cirrhosis because bacterial translocations are increased by changes in the intestinal bacteria and mucosal barriers. In addition, the decreased host immune response cannot remove the bacteria and their products. The most common cause of SBP is Gram-negative bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species, and infections by Gram-positive bacteria are increasing. SBP is diagnosed by the presence of >250 polymorphonuclear leukocyte/mm³ in ascites after paracentesis. If SBP is diagnosed, empirical antibiotic therapy should be started immediately. Empirical antibiotic treatment should distinguish between community acquired infections and nosocomial infections. Cirrhotic patients with gastrointestinal bleeding or low ascitic protein concentrations should consider primary prevention and those who recover from SBP should consider secondary prevention. This review describes the pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of SBP.
Ascites ; Bacteria ; Bacterial Infections ; Community-Acquired Infections ; Cross Infection ; Diagnosis ; Escherichia coli ; Fibrosis ; Gram-Negative Bacteria ; Gram-Positive Bacteria ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Klebsiella ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Paracentesis ; Peritonitis* ; Primary Prevention ; Secondary Prevention

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

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

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the value of clinical signs in the identification of Mycoplasma pneumonia in children's community acquired pneumonia.

METHODWe searched the Cochrane library, PubMed, CNKI, Wan Fang and VIP databases. According to the inclusion and exclusion criterias, we selected and extracted the related information in the literature. According to the QUADAS evaluation system, we established the quality evaluation standard to evaluate the quality of the included studies and analyzed the difference of the clinical manifestations between Mycoplasmae pneumoniae and non-Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children's community acquired pneumonia. We used the RevMan 5.3 software to do the meta-analysis and collected the data according to the requirements. We calculated the pooled sensitivities, specificities and 95%CIs. Then we calculated the negative and positive likelihood ratio, the ratio of the diagnosis and the pre-/post-test probabilities with 95% CIs.

RESULTA total of 11 articles were included in the literature. In summary, the cases of the clinical signs of true positive (TP) and false positive (FP) were as follows : chest pain: TP: 287, FP: 1090; rales: TP: 1906, FP: 6886; headache: TP: 590, FP: 2051; pleural effusion: TP: 10, FP: 16; consolidation: TP: 75, FP: 83; emphysema: TP: 443, FP: 116. The pooled sensitivity, the pooled specificity, the diagnostic ratio (DOR) and 95% CI were: chest pain: pooled sensitivity: 0.12, 95% CI: 0.10-0.13, pooled specificity: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.88-0.90, DOR: 1.05, 95% CI: 0.92-1.21; rales: pooled sensitivity: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.64, 0.67, pooled specificity: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.35, 0.37, DOR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.22; headache: pooled sensitivity: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.21-0.25, pooled specificity: 0.80, 95%CI: 0.79-0.80, DOR: 1.16, 95%CI: 1.05-1.29; pleural effusion: pooled sensitivity: 0.04, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.08, pooled specificity: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.96, 0.99, DOR: 1.28, 95% CI: 0.56, 2.89; consolidation: pooled sensitivity: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.39, pooled specificity: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.84, 0.90, DOR: 1.88, 95% CI: 1.23, 2.90; emphysema: pooled sensitivity: 0.22, 95% CI: 0.17, 0.29, pooled specificity: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.69, 0.77, DOR: 1.05, 95% CI: 0.68, 1.61.

CONCLUSIONThe value of clinical symptoms and signs in the identification of mycoplasma pneumonia in children's community acquired pneumonia was not significant. Although the clinical symptoms/signs of chest pain, headache, rales and chest X-ray manifestations of pleural effusion, consolidation, emphysema could suggest Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection, the presence or absence of any clinical signs were not positive or negative indicators for the identification of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections.

Chest Pain ; Child ; Community-Acquired Infections ; diagnosis ; Headache ; Humans ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; Pleural Effusion ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma ; diagnosis ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Respiratory Sounds ; Sensitivity and Specificity

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Efforts to decrease the use of extended-spectrum cephalosporins are required to prevent the selection and transmission of multi-drug resistant pathogens, such as extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae. The objectives of this study were to assess the clinical efficacy of intravenous cefuroxime as an empirical antibiotic for the treatment of hospitalized women with acute pyelonephritis (APN) caused by Escherichia coli. METHODS: We analyzed the clinical and microbiologic database of 328 hospitalized women with community-onset APN. RESULTS: Of 328 women with APN, 22 patients had cefuroxime-resistant E. coli APN, and 306 patients had cefuroxime-susceptible E. coli APN. The early clinical success rates were significantly higher (p = 0.001) in the cefuroxime-susceptible group (90.8%, 278/306) than in the cefuroxime-resistant group (68.2%, 15/22) at 72 hours. The clinical cure rates at 4 to 14 days after completing antimicrobial therapy were not significantly different in the cefuroxime-resistant or -susceptible groups, with 88.2% (15/17) and 97.8% (223/228; p = 0.078), respectively. The microbiological cure rates were not significantly different and were 90.9% (10/11) and 93.4% (128/137), respectively (p =0.550). The median duration of hospitalization in the cefuroxime-resistant and -susceptible groups was 10 days (interquartile range [IQR], 8 to 13) and 10 days (IQR, 8 to 14), respectively (p =0.319). CONCLUSIONS: Cefuroxime, a second-generation cephalosporin, can be used for the initial empirical therapy of community-onset APN if tailored according to uropathogen identification and susceptibility results, especially in areas where the prevalence rate of ESBL-producing uropathogens is low.
Administration, Intravenous ; Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Cefuroxime/administration & dosage/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Community-Acquired Infections/diagnosis/*drug therapy/microbiology/urine ; Databases, Factual ; *Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Escherichia coli/*drug effects/isolation & purification ; Escherichia coli Infections/diagnosis/*drug therapy/microbiology/urine ; Female ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Middle Aged ; Pyelonephritis/diagnosis/*drug therapy/microbiology/urine ; Remission Induction ; Retrospective Studies ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome ; Urinalysis ; Urinary Tract Infections/diagnosis/*drug therapy/microbiology/urine ; Urine/microbiology