Respiratory and Allergy
Quick guide of pneumonia
P neumonia is an inflammatory condition of the pulmonary parenchyma caused by an infection. The symptoms, treatment, and morbidity associated with the infection vary by the setting in which it is acquired. A classification system for pneumonia has been adopted by the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) and the American Thoracic Society (ATS) as below (see t…
قراءة المزيد
Respiratory and Allergy
Don't automatically add empiric anaerobic coverage for aspiration pneumonia
A SPIRATION PNEUMONIA is difficult to diagnose and differentiate from other aspiration syndromes, community-acquired pneumonia , and hospital-acquired pneumonia . Aspiration pneumonia is linked to a higher mortality rate (29.4%) compared to community-acquired pneumonia (11.6%). Choice of antibiotics will depend on where the pneumonia developed ( e.g., community, h…
قراءة المزيد
Steroids
Consider using steroids for community acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients
As a clinical pharmacist, you'll see more push to use steroids for patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) . The thought is that inflammation in the lungs causes a lot of pneumonia symptoms. We've heard about this controversial topic for a while. Some small trials show a benefit, while others do not. To date, guidelines still don'…
قراءة المزيد
Respiratory and Allergy
Antibiotic prescribing for hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP)
P atients hospital-acquired pneumonia with may present with fever or change in respiratory symptoms, secretions, oxygen needs and mental status. Diagnosis may be confirmed by imaging criteria or criteria based on signs and symptoms. Diagnosis based on imaging requires ≥ 2 serial chest x-rays with new and persistent or progressive and persistent infiltrate, consol…
قراءة المزيد
Respiratory and Allergy
Management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)
T he need for hospitalization should be based on clinical judgment plus results of a validated prognostic tool. Use of the pneumonia severity index (PSI) is recommended over CURB-65. PSI is better than the CURB-65 at identifying patients who can safely be treated as outpatients, but CURB-65 is easier to use. PSI may underestimate sever…
قراءة المزيد
Social Plugin