Pneumonia

The 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine reduced nearly by half vaccine-type community acquired pneumonia in adults aged 65 years and older.

Risk of MI, stroke, and fatal coronary heart disease remained elevated among some patients hospitalized for pneumonia up to 10 years after the index event.

Several related health concerns-including asthma, pericarditis, and pneumonia-are treatable within the primary care office.

This week: 3 questions on GI disorders, 1 Pneumonia, and the link between the brain and pain. Can you answer all 5 questions?

Respiratory symptoms are a major reason why outpatients seek medical care, and primary care physicians who treat children frequently see pneumonia. This week’s photo essay tests your knowledge of respiratory problems in kids.

Proton pump inhibitors have been associated with magnesium deficiency, pneumonia, and Clostridium difficile infection.

However, such therapy does not alter mortality, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis.

A 56-year-old was seen in the ED after 4 days of hemoptysis and intermittent left chest pain. He also complained of exertional dyspnea and arthralgias. He had been treated for “pneumonia” twice during the past month. Histories were unremarkable.

A 61-year-old man with arthritis and an 80-pack-year smoking history presented with fever, dyspnea, and productive cough of a week’s duration that did not respond to outpatient treatment with levofloxacin.

Health care–associated pneumonia (HCAP) is a relatively new term used to describe pneumonia that develops in patients who have recently been exposed to nosocomial and drug-resistant pathogens as a result of hospitalization or residence in a nursing home, for example. A recent study found that about 25% of patients hospitalized with pneumonia had HCAP, and that the mortality rate was higher in those with HCAP than in those with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).