Pneumonia News and Research

Latest Pneumonia News and Research

Fndings could lead to a treatment for idiopathic interstitial pneumonia

An incurable, deadly lung disorder, "idiopathic interstitial pneumonia" (IIP), whose causes were mysterious arises from a combination of a genetic predisposition and damage due to inhaled chemicals, notably from cigarette smoking, Duke University Medical Center researchers have found.

27 Sep 2005

Pneumonia doesn't appear to harm HIV-positive patients any more than those without HIV

In a two-year study that documented cases in 26 hospitals in 11 countries including the United States, Canada, South Africa, Chile and Spain, outcomes for 58 HIV-positive patients with CAP, or community-acquired pneumonia (pneumonia contracted outside of hospitals) were compared with outcomes for 174 HIV-negative patients suffering a similar severity of CAP.

27 Sep 2005

Increasingly virulent Staph infections

In a "Brief Report" in the 22 September 2005 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at the University of Chicago describe three cases of rapidly progressive and ultimately fatal Staphylococcus aureus infections in small children.

26 Sep 2005

Vaccine against group B streptococcus

Common bacteria that live harmlessly in the gastrointestinal tract and vagina of 25 percent of women can become lethal if a newborn gets exposed to them during birth.

20 Sep 2005

SARS can infiltrate brain tissue

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), by its very name, indicates a disease of the respiratory tract. But SARS can also infiltrate brain tissue, causing significant central nervous system problems, according to an article in the Oct. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

20 Sep 2005

Exposure to secondhand smoke kills as many women in China as does smoking

The study estimated that in 2002, 48,400 women in China died from lung cancer and ischemic heart disease attributed to passive smoking compared with 47,300 lung cancer and heart disease deaths from "active" smoking.

6 Sep 2005

Design of wide-spectrum inhibitors targeting coronavirus main proteases

Coronaviruses - the family of viruses that causes the common cold - gained widespread recognition when the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome, familiarly known as SARS, killed at least 800 people in 2003.

6 Sep 2005

The Measles Initiative partnership a significant reason for success

The results from a new study published in The Lancet demonstrate that high- quality measles immunization campaigns and improvements in routine immunization services have reduced measles cases by 91% in 19 African nations from 2000-2003, preventing an estimated 90,000 child deaths in 2003 alone.

6 Sep 2005

Fewer antibiotic prescriptions leads to fewer superbugs

That's the take-home message behind a new study in the Oct. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online. The study found that reducing antibiotic use for pediatric respiratory tract infections resulted in lower rates of carriage of drug-resistant bacteria.

6 Sep 2005

Heart failure patients are "a country" in Europe, there are so many

The number of hospitalizations for heart failure is about the same as for acute myocardial infarction. Our knowledge over acute heart failure patients treated at hospitals for heart failure is based on surveys. In Europe the information is still scarce but emerging especially through the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Euroheart survey program.

5 Sep 2005

Tuberculosis emergency in Africa

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), African health ministers have declared a tuberculosis emergency to order to rally greater political commitment in the fight against one of the continent's top killers.

29 Aug 2005

Quitting heroin under anesthesia is dangerous and ineffective

According to a new study, having a general anesthesia is not an effective way for heroin users to avoid the painful, drawn-out process of breaking their habit and can be dangerous.

24 Aug 2005

Use of general anesthesia for heroin detoxification offers no benefit when compared to two other methods

The use of general anesthesia for heroin detoxification offers no benefit when compared to two other methods, and is associated with several potentially life-threatening adverse events, according to an article in the August 24/31 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

23 Aug 2005

Newly discovered virus linked to childhood respiratory infections

A team of Swedish researchers say they have identified a previously unknown virus that may cause many cases of serious respiratory infections in children.

23 Aug 2005

$Propofol is a safe and effective drug to treat children with refractory status epilepticus$

Propofol is a safe and effective drug to treat children with refractory status epilepticus

...and it is recommended before thiopental, according to a study in the August 23, 2005 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Propofol and thiopental are widely used intravenous anesthetics which are also known to help control seizures.

22 Aug 2005

Large-scale computer simulations reveal new insights into antibiotic resistance

Large-scale computer simulations have pinpointed a tiny change in molecular structure that could account for drug resistance in Streptomices pneumoniae, the organism that causes childhood pneumonia and claims 3.5 million lives a year, mainly in developing countries.

15 Aug 2005

Men and women receive remarkably similar outpatient care at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA),

The study looked at nine measures of quality care that are equally appropriate for women and men, including pneumonia and influenza vaccinations; colorectal cancer screenings; and eye examinations for diabetics, to determine what percentage of VA patients received appropriate care for their gender.

11 Aug 2005

Six Pennsylvania hospitals receive grants to tackle hospital-acquired infections

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF) have announced that six Pennsylvania hospitals will receive grants for demonstration projects to quantify the costs, and to reduce the number, of hospital-acquired infections.

11 Aug 2005

No link between multiple vaccinations and infections

Over the years many concerns have been raised about chilhood vacinations, and one concern has been that multiple vaccinations 'use up' the immune system, so children are unable to fight off other illnesses.

10 Aug 2005

Study estimates Staphylococcus aureus infections cause 12,000 deaths, cost hospitals $9.5 billion

Staphylococcus aureus infections (S. aureus) create an enormous burden to hospitals by significantly increasing costs, length of patient stays and mortality rates, a Northwestern Memorial Hospital researcher found in the most comprehensive study to date, published today's Archives of Internal Medicine.

10 Aug 2005