Pneumonia News

Although vaccines have reduced the burden of pneumococcal disease, pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumoniae and invasive pneumococcal disease remains prevalent.

Pediatric patients with community-acquired pneumonia spent less time in the hospital and receiving IV antibiotics when visited by a medical clown, according to a presentation at the European Respiratory Society International Congress.

The FDA has approved Merck’s 21-valent pneumococcal vaccine, which is specifically made for adults, the company announced.

Older patients with respiratory syncytial virus have higher complication rates than those with influenza, although both illnesses had comparable mortality rates, researchers found.

Around one in eight hospitalized adults treated for community-acquired pneumonia in a Michigan study were inappropriately diagnosed, and most of those patients received unneeded antibiotics, according to a study.

Patients with COPD on antidepressants faced a heightened risk for pneumonia and exacerbations, according to results published in Thorax.

One dose of ceftriaxone lowered the risk for ventilator-associated pneumonia within the first week of mechanical ventilation among patients with acute brain injury, according to results published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Among older adults who survived a community-acquired pneumonia infection, the risk for cardiovascular mortality 1 year after hospitalization decreased with guideline-concordant antibiotic therapy, according to results published in CHEST.

The FDA in 2023 approved treatments for several hospital-associated infections and fully approved a long-used COVID-19 medication, among other non-vaccine-related regulatory decisions.