The Urinary Antigen Tests have High Sensitivity in Diagnosis of Pneumococcus Caused Community-Acquired Pneumonia Posterior to Antimicrobial Therapy

Community-acquired bacterial pneumonia in adults: An update

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the prominent cause of mortality and morbidity with important clinical impact across the globe. India accounts for 23 per cent of global pneumonia burden with case fatality rates between 14 and 30 per cent, and Streptococcus pneumoniae is considered a major bacterial aetiology. Emerging pathogens like Burkholderia pseudomallei is increasingly recognized as an important cause of CAP in Southeast Asian countries. Initial management in the primary care depends on clinical assessment while the hospitalized patients require combinations of clinical scores, chest radiography and various microbiological and biomarker assays. This comprehensive diagnostic approach together with additional sampling and molecular tests in selected high-risk patients should be practiced. Inappropriate therapy in CAP in hospitalized patients lengthens hospital stay and increases cost and mortality. In addition, emergence of multidrug-resistant organisms poses tough challenges in deciding empirical as well as definitive therapy. Developing local evidence on the cause and management should be a priority to improve health outcomes in CAP.

Management of community-acquired pneumonia in immunocompetent adults: updated Swedish guidelines 2017

Based on expert group work, Swedish recommendations for the management of community-acquired pneumonia in adults are here updated. The management of sepsis-induced hypotension is addressed in detail, including monitoring and parenteral therapy. The importance of respiratory support in cases of acute respiratory failure is emphasized. Treatment with high-flow oxygen and non-invasive ventilation is recommended. The use of statins or steroids in general therapy is not found to be fully supported by evidence. In the management of pleural infection, new data show favourable effects of tissue plasminogen activator and deoxyribonuclease installation. Detailed recommendations for the vaccination of risk groups are afforded.

Evaluating the utility of Binax NOW Streptococcus pneumoniae urinary antigen test in adults with community acquired pneumonia in China

INTRODUCTION

Binax NOW rapid immunochromatographic membrane test (ICT), a rapid method for detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen, has been used widely in Europe and America, but rarely in China.

OBJECTIVE

Our aim is to evaluate the utility of the ICT among adult patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in China.

METHODS

Adult patients with CAP were prospectively recruited from 12 general hospitals. ICT tests were done in all patients and clinical data were recorded. Qualified sputum culture was used as the standard for determining the diagnostic usefulness of ICT test.

RESULT

Thousand hundred fifty four CAP patients were enrolled in analysis, with median (IQR) age of 48 (35) years. 276 (23.9%) patients had underling diseases, 770 (66.7%) had received antibiotics before ICT test. Overall, the positive rate of ICT test was 3.3%, with sensitivity and specificity 57.9% and 96.6%, respectively. Disease severity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), increased age; respiratory rate (RR), neutrophil ratio, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), procalcitonin (PCT) and the decreased oxygenation index were associated with positive results of ICT tests. Patients with BUN >7 mmol/L, CURB-65 3-5, PCT > 2ng/mL were the top three groups with highest positive rate of ICT test (22.6%, 22.2% and 21.1% respectively).

CONCLUSION

ICT test has a moderate sensitivity and high specificity in adults with CAP in China. Patients classified as sever pneumonia, or those with BUN > 7 mmol/L, or PCT > 2 ng/mL are more likely to have positive results.

Improving diagnosis of pneumococcal disease by multiparameter testing and micro/nanotechnologies

The diagnosis and management of pneumococcal disease remains challenging, in particular in children who often are asymptomatic carriers, and in low-income countries with a high morbidity and mortality from febrile illnesses where the broad range of bacterial, viral and parasitic cases are in contrast to limited, diagnostic resources. Integration of multiple markers into a single, rapid test is desirable in such situations. Likewise, the development of multiparameter tests for relevant arrays of pathogens is important to avoid overtreatment of febrile syndromes with antibiotics. Miniaturization of tests through use of micro- and nanotechnologies combines several advantages: miniaturization reduces sample requirements, reduces the use of consumables and reagents leading to a reduction in costs, facilitates parallelization, enables point-of-care use of diagnostic equipment and even reduces the amount of potentially infectious disposables, characteristics that are highly desirable in most healthcare settings. This critical review emphasizes our vision on the importance of multiparametric testing for diagnosing pneumococcal infections in patients with fever and examines recent relevant developments in micro/nanotechnologies to achieve this goal.