Switching from intravenous to oral antibiotics in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia: A real-world analysis 2010–2018

The Japanese Respiratory Society 2017 guidelines strongly recommend switching from intravenous (IV) to oral antibiotics in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), following improvement in clinical symptoms and laboratory findings. Here, we retrospectively investigated the real-world, nationwide treatment and switching patterns for hospitalized patients with CAP in Japan using administrative data from 372 Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination hospitals from April 2010 to December 2018. Hospitalizations for CAP (patient age ≥20 years) with an A-DROP classification for CAP severity and IV antibiotics initiated on the admission date were included. Overall, 210,314 hospitalizations (moderate CAP: 61.7%) in 183,607 patients were analyzed. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) age at admission was 79 (70–86) years. Penicillin (51.9%) and cephalosporin (38.9%) were the most common IV antibiotic classes used and the median (IQR) duration of IV use was 8 (6–11) days. Switching to oral antibiotics during a hospitalization occurred in 30.1% (n = 63,311) of patients after a median (IQR) of 7 (5–10) days of IV treatment. The most frequently used oral antibiotic classes after a switch were fluoroquinolone (45.9%) and penicillin (24.8%). The switch rate was higher among hospitalizations with milder CAP, in respiratory medicine ward and in larger hospitals. The overall switch rates did not change over the study period. The findings from this analysis suggest that early switch from IV to oral antibiotics was not widely implemented during the 8 years of the study period. Further observation will be needed to see the potential impact of the guidelines update in 2017 in Japan.     

Where is Chlamydophila pneumoniae pneumonia?

BackgroundMolecular diagnostic methods have recently gained widespread use, and consequently, the importance of viral pathogens in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has undergone re-evaluation. Under these circumstances, the role of Chlamydophila pneumoniae as a pathogen that causes CAP also needs to be reviewed.MethodsWe reviewed articles that contained data on the frequency of identification of C. pneumoniae pneumonia as a causative pathogen for CAP. The articles were identified by performing a search in PubMed with the keywords “community-acquired pneumonia” and “pathogen”.ResultsSixty-three articles were identified. The reviewed articles demonstrated that the rates of identification of C. pneumoniae as the causative pathogen for CAP were significantly lower in assessments based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods than in those based on serological methods. In some studies, it was possible to compare both serological and PCR methods directly using the same set of samples.ConclusionsThe use of PCR methods, including multiplex PCR assays, has revealed that C. pneumoniae may play a limited role as a pathogen for CAP.     

儿童肺炎支原体脑炎研究进展

肺炎支原体是儿童社区获得性肺炎的常见致病菌,能引起多种形式的肺外损害.儿童肺炎支原体脑炎是引起神经系统损伤的最常见疾病类型.肺炎支原体脑炎的发病机制仍不清楚,直接侵袭、免疫损伤和神经毒素被认为是可能的发病机制.由于肺炎支原体脑炎具有较高的致死率及神经系统后遗症率,因此提高临床医师对该病的认识,最大限度地避免误诊与漏诊的发生,具有重要意义.     

Efficacy of corticosteroid treatment for severe community-acquired pneumonia: A meta-analysis

Background

The benefits and adverse effects of corticosteroids in the treatment of severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) have not been well assessed. The aim of this systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of adjuvant corticosteroid therapy in patients with severe CAP.

An evaluation of clinical stability criteria to predict hospital course in community-acquired pneumonia

A number of different methods exist to assess clinical stability, a key component of pneumonia management. We compared the prognostic value of different stability criteria through a secondary analysis of the Edinburgh pneumonia study database. We studied four clinical stability criteria (Halm's criteria, the ATS criteria, CURB and 50% or more decrease in C-reactive protein from baseline). Outcomes included 30-day mortality, need for mechanical ventilation or vasopressor support (MV/VS), development of a complicated pneumonia, and a combined outcome of the above. A total of 1079 patients (49.8% male), with a median age of 68 years (IQR 53–80), were included. Ninety-three patients (8.6%) died by day 30, 91 patients (8.4%) required MV/VS and 99 patients (9.2%) developed a complicated pneumonia. Patients with increasing severity of pneumonia on admission, assessed by both CURB-65 and PSI, took a progressively longer time to achieve clinical stability assessed by any method (p < 0.001 for all criteria). Halm's criteria had the highest area under the curve (AUC) for prediction of 30-day mortality (AUC 0.95 (0.94–0.96)), need for MV/VS (AUC 0.96 (0.95–0.97)) and combined adverse outcome (AUC 0.96 (0.95–0.97)). C-reactive protein had the highest area under the curve for complicated pneumonia (AUC 0.96 (0.95–0.97)). Adding C-reactive protein to Halm's criteria increased the area under the curve, but the difference was only statistically significant for complicated pneumonia. All of the criteria performed well in predicting adverse outcomes in patients with pneumonia. Halm's criteria performed best when identifying patients at low risk of complications.     

比较社区获得性肺炎严重程度的评判指数

社区获得性肺炎在人群中的发病率较高,对社区获得性肺炎严重程度的准确评估有助于临床医生决定有关治疗方面的问题.本文就国内外多种评估社区获得性肺炎严重程度的方法 发及应用作一综述.     

Prospective comparison of three validated prediction rules for prognosis in community-acquired pneumonia

PURPOSE: We assessed the performance of 3 validated prognostic rules in predicting 30-day mortality in community-acquired pneumonia: the 20 variable Pneumonia Severity Index and the easier to calculate CURB (confusion, urea nitrogen, respiratory rate, blood pressure) and CURB-65 severity scores. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We prospectively followed 3181 patients with community-acquired pneumonia from 32 hospital emergency departments (January-December 2001) and assessed mortality 30 days after initial presentation. Patients were stratified into Pneumonia Severity Index risk classes (I-V) and CURB (0-4) and CURB-65 (0-5) risk strata. We compared the discriminatory power (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) of these rules to predict mortality and their accuracy based on sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and likelihood ratios. RESULTS: The Pneumonia Severity Index (risk classes I-III) classified a greater proportion of patients as low risk (68% [2152/3181]) than either a CURB score <1 (51% [1635/3181]) or a CURB-65 score <2 (61% [1952/3181]). Low-risk patients identified based on the Pneumonia Severity Index had a slightly lower mortality (1.4% [31/2152]) than patients classified as low-risk based on the CURB (1.7% [28/1635]) or the CURB-65 (1.7% [33/1952]). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was higher for the Pneumonia Severity Index (0.81) than for either the CURB (0.73) or CURB-65 (0.76) scores (P <0.001, for each pairwise comparison). At comparable cut-points, the Pneumonia Severity Index had a higher sensitivity and a somewhat higher negative predictive value for mortality than either CURB score. CONCLUSIONS: The more complex Pneumonia Severity Index has a higher discriminatory power for short-term mortality, defines a greater proportion of patients at low risk, and is slightly more accurate in identifying patients at low risk than either CURB score.     

清肺方离子导入治疗痰热壅肺型社区获得性肺炎疗效观察

目的 观察清肺方离子导入治疗痰热壅肺型社区获得性肺炎（community acquired pneumonia,CAP）的疗效。方法 将60例患者随机分为治疗组和对照组,每组30例,对照组采用常规抗感染、化痰治疗,治疗组在对照组治疗的基础上加清肺方离子导入治疗12 d;治疗前、治疗6 d后、治疗12 d后,分别观察两组患者中医证候积分、白细胞（white blood cell,WBC）计数、中性粒细胞百分比（neutrophil percentage,N%）、超敏C反应蛋白（high sensitivity C-reactive protein,hs-CRP）及胸部CT的变化情况。结果 与治疗前比较,两组患者治疗6、12 d后,中医证候积分、WBC计数、N%、hs-CRP水平均显著下降（P＜0.05）;治疗6、12 d后,治疗组患者中医证候积分、WBC计数均显著低于对照组（P＜0.05）。两组患者治疗后肺部炎症吸收情况比较,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。结论 清肺方离子导入治疗痰热壅肺型CAP能够较快缓解患者咳嗽、咳痰、胸痛、发热等症状,促进肺部炎症吸收。     

不同类型老年吸入性肺炎的病原学、抗生素应用及临床转归

目的 比较老年社区获得性吸入性肺炎(CAP)、医疗相关性吸入性肺炎(HCAP)及医院获得性吸入性肺炎(HAP,包括呼吸机相关性吸入性肺炎)三者病原学、抗生素应用及治疗转归的关系.方法 收集2005年1月一2010年12月北京二炮总医院呼吸科住院的216例老年吸人性肺炎患者病例,分析其病原学结果、抗生素应用的及治疗转归.结果 三种吸入性肺炎的病原学有显著差异,与CAP和HCAP相比,HAP患者G-杆菌的感染比例明显增多(P<0.001);抗生素应用方案有明显差异,CAP组病人未调整抗生素应用比率明显高于HCAP组与HAP组(P<0.001);抗生素应用策略不同,所致死亡率有明显差异,以升阶梯方案为最高,以降阶梯治疗为最低(P=0.03).结论 三种吸入性肺炎在感染病原菌种类、抗生素应用策略及治疗转归上有明显差异,应根据不同类型的老年吸入性肺炎特点合理经验性使用抗菌药物.     

社区获得性肺炎的诊治进展

社区获得性肺炎的诊断和治疗方法近年来在不断完善,但是社区获得性肺炎的正确诊断及合理化治疗仍然是临床医师需要面临的问题.本文对社区获得性肺炎的诊治进展情况进行介绍.