Objective To explore whether hospitalized elderly patients with severe communityacquired pneumonia ( SCAP) have better outcomes if they are treated with dual-therapy consisting of a β-lactam/macrolide or fluoroquinolone.Methods A prospective study was conducted in patients with SCAP aged 65 years or older between January 2007 and January 2012. These patients were assigned to a combination therapy group or a β-lactam monotherapy group by the attending physicians. Time to clinical stability( TCS) and total mortality were calculated. Prognostic factors for death were analyzed. Results Among the 232 patients, 153 patients were given β-lactam/macrolide or β-lactam/ fluoroquinolone ( macrolide in 67 patients and fluoroquinolone in 86) , while 79 were treated with β-lactam monotherapy. Compared with the monotherapy group, the combination therapy group was associated with significant decreased TCS ( median TCS, 10 days vs. 13 days) , and lower overall in-hospital mortality( 24.2% vs. 43.0%, P lt;0. 01) . Compared with fluoroquinolone, macrolide use was associated with lower ICU mortality ( 14.9% vs. 31.4% , P lt;0. 01) . Simplified acute physiology score Ⅱ, pneumonia severity index, mutilobar infiltration, and β-lactam monotherapy were confirmed as independent predictors of death. Conclusion β-lactam/macrolide or β-lactam/ fluoroquinolone combination therapy, especially with macrolide, has superiority over β-lactam monotherapy in elderly patients with SCAP, and should be recommended.
Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of dexamethasone on children with severe community acquired pneumonia ( CAP) . Methods 120 children with severe CAP admitted from January 2009 to June 2011 were recruited in the study. The patients were randomly divided into a dexamethasone group ( n = 62) and a control group ( n = 58) . The patients in the dexamethasone group received additional dexamethasone intravenous injection for 3 days ( 0. 2-0. 4 mg· kg- 1 · d- 1 , qd) on the basic treatment of the control group. Length of hospital stay, serum C reactive protein ( CRP) concentration on 4th day after admission, overall efficacy, mortality, incidence of adverse events during treatment were compared between the two groups. Results Median length hospital stay was 8 days in the dexamethasone group compared with 9 days in the control group without significant difference ( P gt;0. 05) . The serumCRP concentration on 4th day was lower in the dexamethasone group than that in the control group [ ( 23. 4 ±5. 6) mmol /L vs. ( 41. 3 ±6. 2) mmol /L, P lt;0. 05] . The overall efficacy was higher in the dexamethasone group than that in the control group ( 88. 7% vs. 74. 1% , P lt; 0. 05) . The in-hospital mortality and incidence of severe adverse events were not significantly different between the two groups ( P gt; 0. 05) . Conclusions Dexamethasone treatment is associated with a significant attenuation in systematic inflammatory response, but does not decrease mortality in hospitalized children with severe CAP.
ObjectiveTo explore procalcitonin (PCT) dynamically in severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP) patients to evaluate the effects of different kinds of medical treatments and assess the clinical significance of the change of PCT. MethodsAll of the selected 60 SCAP patients treated from January 2009 to April 2011 met the standards of IDSA/ATS Guidelines for CAP. There were 38 males and 22 females, with an average age of 66.3 years. The sterile venous blood specimen samples were collected from the patients at day 0 to day 5. PCT and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay throughout the research. At day six, based on oxygenation index (PaO2/FiO2) ratio higher than 250, inflammation absorption on chest X ray after vasoactive agents were stopped, Glasgow scores higher than 10 and urine volume equal to or higher than 0.5 mL/(kg·d), we divided the patients into recovery group and deterioration group. Data were analyzed by SAS 9.0 software, and P<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. ResultsThe analysis results showed that PCT and CRP bore a significantly positive relationship on day 0 (r=0.38, P=0.00). The research also indicated that PCT had a faster declining rate than CRP and white blood cells count throughout the clinical treatment. The average of PCT declined 29% in 48 hours. Following the criterion of PCT decrease by 30%, the research showed that PCT had a higher sensibility and specificity (66.87% and 85.50%, respectively) in 48 hours than 72 hours (70.05% and 100.00%), 96 hours (79.88% and 75.23%), and 120 hours (83.10% and 100.00%). ConclusionFollowing the criterion of PCT decrease by 30% after using antibiotics can be an clinical objective index to guide the use of antibiotics and provide the basis for clinical application and prognosis.
ObjectiveTo investigate the etiologic feature and prognosis of adult patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP). MethodsAccording to the guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of community-acquired pneumonia in 2006, 105 patients with SCAP were included in the study. The proportion of pathogens (including multiple resistant bacteria) and mortality rate were recorded. Appropriate statistical methods were selected and all data were analyzed by using SPSS Version 18.0 computerized program. ResultsThe predominant pathogen with SCAP was Pseudomonas aeruginosa, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Legionella pneumophila. In death cases, Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most common pathogen, followed by Staphylococcus aureus. It was showed in the drug sensitivity test that most pathogens were drug-sensitive strains. The patients with tumor had higher risks to get infected with Gram-negative bacillus. ConclusionsThe etiology of patients with SCAP in our emergency department is given priority to Gram-negative bacillus and sensitive strains, of which Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae are predominant. As for the Gram-positive cocci, Staphylococcus aureus is the most common pathogen. Legionella pneumophila is the most common pathogen in atypical pathogens, which only account for a small proportion of the aetiology of SCAP. Patients with Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus infections are associated with poor prognosis.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical value of the soluble urokinase type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) level in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for evaluateting the disease severity and prognosis of severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP). MethodsEighty-four patients with SCAP were recruited as a SCAP group from the respiratory department, ICU and RICU between April 2014 and April 2016. According to their organ dysfunction, the SCAP patients were subdivided into a MODS group and a non-MODS group. Depending on the treatment response on the 7th day of treatment, they were subdivided into an effective group and an ineffective group. According to the survival condition within 28 days, they were subdivided into a survival group and a death group. Meanwhile, 50 cases with non-severe common community acquired pneumonia were recruited as a control group. On the admission day, all cases were evaluated by PSI score and APACHE Ⅱscore. The serum suPAR level were detected by ELISA on the 1st day in hospital. The suPAR and procalcitonin (PCT) levels in the patient's BALF and serum were detected on the 1st, 3rd, 7th day, discharge or death day. The symptoms and signs, biochemical and pulmonary imaging changes were also observed. ResultsThere were no differences in the sex, age, body weight, duration of pneumonia, or complicated diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease and cerebral vascular diseases between the SCAP group and the control group (all P > 0.05). The suPAR levels in serum and BALF of the SCAP group were higher than those of the control group with significant differences (all P < 0.05). The suPAR level in BALF was obviously higher than that in serum in the SCAP group with significant difference (P < 0.05), and slightly higher than that in serum in the control group with no significant difference (P > 0.05). The level of suPAR in BALF of the MODS group was significantly higher than that in the non-MODS group with significant difference (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference in the PCT level between the two groups (P > 0.05). The suPAR level in the ineffective treatment group was significantly higher than that in the effective treatment group on the 7th day in hospital with significant difference (P < 0.05). The suPAR levels in BALF of the death group were higher than those in the survival group at each time point after admittion with significant difference (all P < 0.05), and the PCT levels had no significant difference between the two groups within 1 week of each time point (all P > 0.05). The suPAR level in BALF of the SCAP group was positively correlated with APACHEⅡ score and PSI score (r=0.578, P=0.0085; r=0.565, P=0.0071), and plasma PCT level was weakly correlated with the APACHEⅡ score and PSI score (r1=-0.0137, r2=-0.0152). ConclusionThe SuPAR level in BALF of patients with SCAP is closely related to the severity and prognosis, and can be used as an index to assess the severity and prognosis.