Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0032285 (pneumonia)
 54,520 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Asbestos is a fibrous silicate mineral that has been known for decades to cause pulmonary scarring, referred to as asbestosis. The simplest definition of asbestosis is the presence of pulmonary fibrosis as a result of accumulation of airborne asbestos in the lungs. Not infrequently, the terms "asbestos" and "asbestosis" are used incorrectly (interchangeably) by medical personnel, and sometimes pleural fibrosis caused by asbestos is incorrectly referred to as asbestosis. The earliest lesion of asbestosis, as defined by the CAP-NIOSH Committee is peribronchiolar fibrosis, although controversy exists as to how specific this lesion is with respect to causation by asbestos, and whether this lesion progresses to grade 4 asbestosis. In addition, some authorities in the field suggest that the term "asbestosis" be used only for diffuse interstitial fibrosis. The mechanism by which asbestos causes interstitial fibrosis remains poorly understood, and in recent years, pathologic changes such as organizing pneumonitis-bronchiolitis obliterans, and lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis, have been described in persons occupationally exposed to asbestos, suggesting that the pulmonary lesions caused by asbestos represent a wider spectrum than had previously been appreciated. By defining areas of uncertainty, medical science will eventually clarify areas of disagreement concerning asbestosis which will eventually lead to a better understanding of this disease.
 ...
PMID:Controversies and uncertainties concerning the pathologic features and pathologic diagnosis of asbestosis. 160 52

A model for performing fiberoptic bronchoscopy as a supplement to noninvasive diagnostic methods, in patients with community-acquired pneumonia, was prospectively studied. Twenty-four patients underwent bronchoscopy, seven pilot patients and 17 of 277 (6 percent) consecutive patients with CAP. Indications for FOB were early therapy failure (less than or equal to 72h)(n = 7), late therapy failure (greater than 72h)(n = 11), or before start of antibiotic therapy in severely ill or immunocompromised patients (n = 6). Samples were obtained by aspiration of bronchial secretion and with a protected brush catheter from which quantitative cultures with a detection level of 10(4) colony forming units per ml were performed. Results concluded that FOB, with the use of quantitative PB-cultures, offered a safe and specific diagnostic tool, which on special indications, can be of great value in the management of patients with CAP.
 ...
PMID:Diagnostic fiberoptic bronchoscopy and protected brush culture in patients with community-acquired pneumonia. 230 61

The aim of this study was to assess the clinical efficacy of a combination of penicillin G and ofloxacin in the treatment of community acquired pneumonia. Thirty eight patients (23 males, 15 females, mean age 62.8 years +/- 19.6) were included. They presented a CAP with the following criteria: fever, abnormal chest X-ray pattern. They received the combination of IV penicillin 12 x 10(6) U daily and IV ofloxacin 200 mg bid. After 48 hours of apyrexia, this treatment was followed by oral ofloxacin alone 200 mg bid. In six cases, the etiologic agent was identified: 2 S. pneumoniae, 1 Chlamydiae psittaci, 2 Staphylococcus aureus, 1 Mycoplasma. In 32 cases, the bacteriological investigation was negative. Five patients were excluded: 2 deaths due to heart failure, 3 alterations of treatment. Twenty eight patients recovered: apyrexia was obtained in 3.5 days. Penicillin G was prescribed for 7.5 days +/- 2.65, followed by ofloxacin alone for 11.43 +/- 3 days. Five patients were considered as clinical failures: 2 deaths due to extensive pneumonia, 3 recoveries after alteration of treatment. Side effects were rare: 1 confusion, 2 skin rashes. As a conclusion: penicillin G and ofloxacin in combination for the initial therapy of CAP, rapidly relayed by ofloxacin alone, permitted 84.3% of recovery in our patients.
 ...
PMID:[The combination of penicillin G and ofloxacin: a response to the empirical treatment of community acquired pneumonia]. 238 49

CAP requiring ICU admission is a distinct clinical entity. The mortality rate of pneumonia in this subset of patients has been unchanged in the past several years. Aggressive diagnostic of strategies to establish the causative pathogens of pneumonia rapidly will enable clinicians to adjust antibiotic therapy appropriately. It is hoped that new adjunctive therapeutic options that positively influence host-related factors and bolster pulmonary antibacterial defense will result in reduced morbidity and mortality.
 ...
PMID:Community-acquired pneumonia in the intensive care unit. 776 89

Endotoxin(lipopolysaccharide = LPS), cell wall component of gram-negative bacteria, activates monocytes and macrophages to release cytokines, reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI), and to generate tissue factor(TF) which initiate coagulation. We have purified 7kDa and 18kDa cationic antibacterial proteins (CAP-7 and CAP-18) with LPS-binding and LPS-neutralizing activities from rabbit granulocytes using as an assay the agglutination of erythrocytes coated with Re-LPS. From protein sequencing, CAP-7 was identified as the C-terminal 37 amino acid fragment of CAP-18. Synthetic peptide #197 (identical sequence to CAP-7, Gly1-Try37) and #36-1 (a truncation of CAP consisting of 32 amino acid residues, Gly1-Ala32) showed LPS-binding activity. Each peptide inhibited LPS-induced tissue factor(TF) generation by murine peritoneal macrophages, even added 1-3 hours after stimulation of cells with LPS. C57BL/6 mice treated with #197 were significantly protected from lethal LPS challenge. Peptide #36 also blocked the LPS-induced lethality. These peptides had antibacterial activity to gram-negative bacteria, such as E.coli, S.typhimurium, K.pneumonia, Ps.aeruginosa and also to gram-positive S.aureus (Methicillin sensitive and resistant strains). Both peptides inhibited TF- and Xa-induced plasma clotting. Using synthetic chromotogenic substrates, both CAP7 peptides blocked the coagulation cascade at two sites, activation of factor X to Xa and conversion of Factor II (prothrombin) to factor IIa (thrombin). In vivo treatment of peptide #197 prevented acute lethality in mice injected with tissue factor (rabbit brain thromboplastin). Two other peptides, #32(Gly1-Phe9) and #50(Ile13-Typ37) failed to demonstrate LPS-binding, LPS-neutralizing, antibacterial and anticoagulant activities. The active peptides but not the inactive peptide maintain a putative heparin binding domain at their N-termini. This heparin binding domain is participate in the LPS-binding, LPS neutralizing, antibacterial and anticoagulant activities of CAP7. These active peptides may have a therapeutic potential for treatment for DIC due to sepsis and endotoxin shock.
 ...
PMID:Endotoxin-binding synthetic peptides with endotoxin-neutralizing, antibacterial and anticoagulant activities. 783 55

The prognostic influence on mortality of parameters available in an emergency Unit is studied in patients with acquired community pneumonia (ACP) requiring hospitalization. Three hundred and thirty patients admitted consecutively from the emergency unit of a general hospital were evaluated. Radiological, analytical, clinical, and demographic data were recorded. The parameters associated with greater mortality were: age, absence of thoracic pain, obnubilation, hypotension, elevation in urea, GOT, GPT, LDH, decrease in prothrombin activity, pO2, pH, albumin, and the affectation of more than one lobe in a radiography of the thorax. Considering the parameters associated with a higher relative risk (age > 65 years, urea > 50 mg/dl, LDH > 460 U/l and prothrombin < 70%), the presence of three or four of these variables shaved a sensibility of 59 percent and a specificity of 93 percent in predicting mortality. In the multivariant analysis remained as significant: age, obnubilation, elevation in LDH, and decrease in the activity of prothrombin and pH. Appropriate knowledge of the prognostic factors in CAP allows for early determination of patients who require special attention in both diagnosis and in treatment upon hospitalization.
 ...
PMID:[The prognostic factors of mortality in community-acquired pneumonia requiring hospitalization]. 802 88

CAP in the older adult is a complex multifactorial syndrome. Older adults are at increased risk for pneumonia and death associated with pneumonia. The prevalence and severity of risk factors for pneumonia increase with age. Although alterations in respiratory function occur with increased frequency in the elderly, immune senescence is probably the major predisposing factor contributing to the increased incidence, morbidity, and mortality of respiratory infection in the elderly. Yet, risk factors, once identified, may be amendable to interventions and health behavior modification to reduce the occurrence of pneumonia. Older patients discharged from the hospital after recovering from pneumonia are at increased risk for subsequent hospitalizations and death. Further studies are needed to explore the long-term consequences of pneumonia in the antimicrobial era on quality of life and physical and psychosocial functioning.
 ...
PMID:The "peripneumonia" period in the older adult. 804 88

Despite the introduction of newer antibiotics, vaccinations, and better supportive care, CAP remains a common, frequently fatal disease. Age and coexisting illness influence which infectious agents are most likely to cause infection. Severity of illness and clinical features are influenced by various host factors and by the virulence of the infectious agent. Mortality and morbidity are reduced by the rapid institution of appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Because of the limitations of presently available diagnostic tests, many patients are begun on empiric regimens, and in up to half of these individuals, a cause is not identified. Although there are a number of potential pathogens, it is possible to identify likely pathogens based on easily identifiable clinical factors (age, presence of coexisting disease, severity of illness at presentation, and the need for hospitalization). Using this approach, CAP in immunocompetent adults may be divided into four categories. Once empiric therapy has been initiated, therapy should be continued for at least 72 hours unless clinical deterioration is noted. Within 4 days, fever and leukocytosis should return to baseline, but abnormal physical findings (i.e., crackles) require longer to resolve, especially with coexisting illness, and chest radiographic findings are the last to return to baseline and are especially delayed if the patient is bacteremic or has structural lung disease. Not all patients respond to initial empiric therapy. Reasons for this include antimicrobial resistance, the presence of nonbacterial pathogens (respiratory viruses), unusual bacterial pathogens, noninfectious causes that may mimic CAP, infectious complications (i.e., empyema), and pneumonia occurring in patients with unrecognized severe immunosuppression. Failure to improve after 72 hours and development of deterioration are indications for repeat diagnostic workup and consideration of alternative diagnoses. More invasive diagnostic tests are appropriate in severely ill patients and in those whose condition is deteriorating rapidly.
 ...
PMID:Overview of community-acquired pneumonia. Prognosis and clinical features. 807 67

The use of administrative data to study pneumonia is limited because International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification (ICD9-CM) diagnosis codes do not specify whether pneumonia is community-acquired (CAP), a key clinical distinction. We classified 212 patients discharged with a diagnosis code for pneumonia as to whether or not they had CAP, using three administrative data-based systems (Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) alone, principal diagnosis alone, and a complex algorithm). We examined agreement with classification by clinician chart review. We also compared the length of stay (LOS) and mortality among the CAP populations identified with different methods. Agreement between the clinical review and the three administrative data methods ranged from 86 to 80%. Classification by DRG performed least well. Populations defined by claims data had similar mortality but shorter mean LOS (9.70, 9.40, and 7.91 days for the algorithm, principal diagnosis and DRG methods, respectively) than the clinically defined population (10.85 days). We conclude that studies of CAP using populations identified by claims may underestimate LOS.
 ...
PMID:Community-acquired pneumonia: can it be defined with claims data? 938 29

A cost-conscious evaluation of CAP in the adult patient requires an initial assessment of the clinical severity and the risks of complicated pneumonia. Initially, most patients should have chest radiography; some authorities also recommend sputum Gram staining and culture, but additional blood testing, culture, and diagnostic procedures are indicated only for patients who have chronically impaired health or clinical evidence of sever infection. Initial empirical antibiotic therapy varies depending on the setting (outpatient, hospitalized patient, critically ill patient). Failure of the patient to respond to empirical antibiotic therapy within 72 hours should direct the clinician to consider unusual or resistant organisms or noninfectious causes of pneumonitis.
 ...
PMID:Community-acquired pneumonia. Tailoring management of adult patients according to risk category. 940 62


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next >>