Pneumonia News and Research

Latest Pneumonia News and Research

Measles: an interview with Dr. Robert Perry, World Health Organization

Measles is a disease marked by fever, rash, and cold symptoms (red eyes, cough, runny nose) that results in a temporary suppression of the immune system and a drop in vitamin A levels.

4 Feb 2013

Certified IPs more likely to perceive evidence behind infection prevention practices

There is general agreement among hospital infection preventionists (IPs) with respect to which practices have weak or strong evidence supporting their use to prevent healthcare-associated infection, according to a new study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

4 Feb 2013

CDC: Adult vaccination rates 'unacceptably low'

According to the CDC, a "substantial increase" in immunizations for adults is necessary.

31 Jan 2013

FDA approves Pfizer’s Prevnar 13 to prevent pneumococcal disease in older children, adolescents

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for the expansion of the company's pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Prevnar 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]), for use in older children and adolescents aged 6 years through 17 years for active immunization for the prevention of invasive disease caused by the 13 Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes contained in the vaccine.

28 Jan 2013

Antibiotic use common at the end of life

More than one-quarter of hospice patients receive antibiotics in their last week of life, despite the absence of documented infection in most cases, US researchers report.

25 Jan 2013

AACN expands its hospital-based nurse leadership and innovation training program

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) expands its hospital-based nurse leadership and innovation training program to a fourth region with the addition of eight Austin-area hospitals.

25 Jan 2013

Neuromuscular blockade (NMB) reversal

General anesthesia is made up of three components: hypnotic medicines, to induce sleep; analgesics, or medicines to inhibit pain; and NMB agents that induce muscle relaxation. Anesthesiology professionals use NMB to relax a patient’s muscles and prevent involuntary movement that could impact surgery.

24 Jan 2013

Madagascar faces challenges in vaccinating children

"In Madagascar, pneumonia is responsible for 21 percent of deaths among children under five years old -- making it the leading cause of death for this age group," but "[t]he recent introduction of a vaccine to protect against pneumococcal disease, the leading cause of severe childhood pneumonia, is attempting to reduce the thousands of child deaths that occur every year in" the country, IRIN reports.

24 Jan 2013

Indian company plans to make lower-cost injectable polio vaccine

Serum Institute of India Ltd., the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, plans to "slash the price of polio immunization and introduce shots for diarrhea and pneumonia, undercutting Pfizer Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline Plc.," Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

24 Jan 2013

Routine gastric volume monitoring thrown out

Monitoring gastric residual volumes in critically ill patients receiving enteral nutrition does not prevent them from developing ventilator-associated pneumonia, shows a randomized trial.

22 Jan 2013

Current smokers with HIV more likely to get bacterial pneumonia

Bacterial pneumonia is one of the commonest and most serious infections occurring in people infected with HIV. A metanalysis of cohort and case control studies published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine finds that current smokers with HIV were at double the risk of bacterial pneumonia than non-smoking counterparts, but that when people stopped smoking their risk was reduced.

21 Jan 2013

Albumin may prove a predictor for pneumonia outcomes

Researchers say that assessing serum albumin levels within 24 hours of admission could be a good prognostic marker of community-acquired pneumonia.

21 Jan 2013

ECLS system supports flu patients in their recovery from severe respiratory problems

In recent weeks the intensive critical care units at University Health Network's Toronto General Hospital have used Extra Corporeal Lung Support (ECLS) to support five influenza (flu) patients in their recovery from severe respiratory problems.

19 Jan 2013

Rite Aid obtains more than 400,000 additional seasonal flu shots

In response to the nationwide flu epidemic and customer demand, Rite Aid Corporation announced today it has obtained more than 400,000 additional seasonal flu shots, which began arriving in stores earlier this week.

19 Jan 2013

Prevention opportunity for postoperative cardiac arrest

Postoperative complications occur in more than three-quarters of patients who have a cardiac arrest, shows research that suggests an opportunity for intervention.

17 Jan 2013

Pneumonia risk increased in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia are at an increased risk for developing pneumonia, results from a large Taiwanese study show.

17 Jan 2013

Underestimating cough duration may skew antibiotic perceptions

US researchers suggest that one reason patients request antibiotics for respiratory infections is that they greatly underestimate how long it usually takes for acute cough illness to resolve.

17 Jan 2013

Pneumonia risk increased in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia are at an increased risk for developing pneumonia, results from a large Taiwanese study show.

16 Jan 2013

Study demonstrates ways in which quality measurement from EHRs can be improved

Health care providers and hospitals are being offered up to $27 billion in federal financial incentives to use electronic health records (EHRs) in ways that demonstrably improve the quality of care. The incentives are based, in part, on the ability to electronically report clinical quality measures.

16 Jan 2013

Greater selectivity in GI bleeding prophylaxis needed

Researchers have developed a risk-scoring system to identify noncritically ill hospital patients most likely to benefit from prophylactic acid-suppressive medication.

14 Jan 2013