Pneumonia News and Research

Latest Pneumonia News and Research

New vaccines may not reduce tuberculosis incidence

Despite the potential of new vaccines to prevent TB, new research shows that the removal of one strain of TB can allow a previously suppressed strain to succeed. Consequently, a vaccination program could result in the proliferation of strains more likely to be, or become, drug resistant, and could even result in an increased prevalence of the disease.

6 Oct 2008

Newsweek examines global malaria action plan

Newsweek in its Oct. 6 issue examines malaria eradication efforts and the Global Malaria Action Plan, which aims to eradicate malaria worldwide and was released last week during the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (Carmichael/Cunningham, Newsweek, 10/6).

5 Oct 2008

Advanced Life Sciences submits NDA for cethromycin in mild-to-moderate community acquired pneumonia

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. has announced the submission of a new drug application (NDA) for cethromycin in mild-to-moderate community acquired pneumonia (CAP). Advanced Life Sciences also entered into debt and equity financing agreements to strengthen its balance sheet and help fund commitments associated with the NDA submission and pre-commercialization activities.

2 Oct 2008

Pennsylvania, New Jersey release hospital quality performance reports

Death rates from heart bypass and valve surgeries performed at Pennsylvania hospitals have declined significantly in recent years, according to a Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council report released on Thursday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

22 Sep 2008

Light-activated drug used to tackle MRSA

New treatment using a light-activated drug could revolutionise the fight against hospital "superbug", MRSA (otherwise known as Meticillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) it was revealed at the British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC) in Manchester.

7 Sep 2008

CMS adds children's health care information to Hospital Compare web site

CMS on Wednesday announced that it has updated its Hospital Compare Web site to include information on 30-day mortality rates for the pneumonia and inpatient asthma treatment for children, CQ HealthBeat reports.

5 Sep 2008

American Indian/Alaska natives have significantly higher alcohol-related death percentage than general population, CDC reports

Nearly 12% of American Indian and Alaska Native deaths over a four-year period were alcohol related, according to a CDC report released on Thursday, AP/USA Today reports.

1 Sep 2008

New diagnostic tools and biomarkers

Patients presenting shortness of breath on arrival at the emergency department (ED) can gain from improved diagnosis allowing physicians to distinguish congestive heart failure patients from those presenting pneumonia.

1 Sep 2008

Shots are nothing to shy away from with the right approach

"Getting shots may seem burdensome and even downright scary to some children, but they protect children against dangerous and deadly diseases."

28 Aug 2008

New York Health Department to decide soon whether Medicaid beneficiaries with HIV/AIDS should be moved into managed care plans

The New York State Department of Health in the next few weeks is expected to issue a final decision on whether to switch Medicaid beneficiaries with HIV/AIDS from fee-for-service plans to managed care plans, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports (AP/Long Island Newsday, 8/24).

26 Aug 2008

Bacterial pneumonia caused most deaths in 1918 influenza pandemic

The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection.

19 Aug 2008

Aspirin, acid-blocker a-day keeps GI bleeding at bay

For patients with clogged heart arteries who take long-term, low-dose aspirin to prevent a cardiac event, adding a stomach acid-blocking drug to their daily routine has been shown to reduce their risk for upper gastrointestinal bleeding - an infrequent, but serious side-effect of regular aspirin use.

11 Aug 2008

New understanding of exaggerated mucous production and secretion in cystic fibrosis

A London, Canada scientist studying cystic fibrosis (CF) has successfully corrected the defect which causes the overproduction of intestinal mucous in mice.

29 Jul 2008

Drop in child deaths in NSW - but aboriginal children still six times more likely to die

Recently released figures on child deaths in New South Wales have revealed that the number has dropped overall - down almost 40 per cent in the past decade - this equates to 8.6 lives per 100,000 children and young people saved, however this does not appear to apply to indigenous children.

29 Jul 2008

Experts say superbugs all set to overwhelm Australia's health system

Experts around the world are concerned about the threat to hospitals from 'superbugs' such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) which have developed resistance to most of the antibiotics used to treat them.

8 Jul 2008

Being an MRSA carrier increases risk of infection and death

Patients harboring methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) for long periods of time continue to be at increased risk of MRSA infection and death, according to a new study in the July 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, currently available online.

2 Jul 2008

Life expectancy in U.S. reached record high of 78.1 years in 2006

Life expectancy for U.S. residents reached a record high of 78.1 years in 2006, compared with a previous record high of 77.8 years in 2005, according to a preliminary report released on Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics at CDC, the Washington Post reports. For the report, Melonie Heron, a NCHS demographer, and colleagues analyzed 95% of the death certificates collected in the 50 states and Washington, D.C., in 2006.

17 Jun 2008

Warning about use of psychiatric drugs with the elderly

Health officials in the U.S. are warning doctors that prescribing certain psychiatric drugs to elderly people suffering from dementia can increase their risk of death.

17 Jun 2008

Age-adjusted death rates in U.S. down sharply in 2006

Age-adjusted death rates in the United States dropped significantly between 2005 and 2006 and life expectancy hit another record high, according to preliminary death statistics released today by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

11 Jun 2008

Without increased funding, California's dominance and public health are threatened, according to new report

The California Healthcare Institute (CHI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) today released a report, "The National Institutes of Health: Fueling Healthcare Innovation in California," urging legislators to support increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) - the backbone of the biomedical industry in California, which employs more than 267,000 people in high wage jobs.

11 Jun 2008