Fluoroquinolones versus β-Lactam/β-Lactamase Inhibitors in Outpatients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Pneumonia: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Current Status of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

OBJECTIVE

Worldwide, community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common infection that occurs in older adults, who may have pulmonary comorbidities, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although there have been clinical studies on the coexistence of CAP with COPD, there remain some controversial findings. This review presents the current status of COPD in CAP patients, including the disease burden, clinical characteristics, risk factors, microbial etiology, and antibiotic treatment.

DATA SOURCES

A literature review included full peer-reviewed publications up to January 2018 derived from the PubMed database, using the keywords "community-acquired pneumonia" and "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease".

STUDY SELECTION

Papers in English were reviewed, with no restriction on study design.

RESULTS

COPD patients who are treated with inhaled corticosteroids are at an increased risk of CAP and have a worse prognosis, but data regarding the increased mortality remains unclear. Although Streptococcus pneumoniae is still regarded as the most common bacteria isolated from patients with CAP and COPD, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is also important, and physicians should pay close attention to the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance, particularly in these two organisms.

CONCLUSIONS

COPD is a common and important predisposing comorbidity in patients who develop CAP. COPD often aggravates the clinical symptoms of patients with CAP, complicating treatment, but generally does not appear to affect prognosis.

Antibiotic de-escalation principle in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated with severe pneumonia

The present study investigated the clinical effect of antibiotic de-escalation therapy in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) complicated with severe pneumonia. According to the parity method of hospitalization number, 86 cases were selected and divided into the observation and control group with 43 cases each. Based on empirical antibiotic application, levofloxacin and cephalosporin antibiotics were used in the control group. After treatment for 3 days, the regimen was adjusted to antibiotics active against Gram-positive (G+) and Gram-negative (G-) bacteria such as the third or fourth generation cephalosporin antibiotics, combined with aminoglycoside, or macrolide antibiotics according to their effects. The treatment effects were re-evaluated after 3–7 days. Finally, broad-spectrum antibiotics such as imipenem were chosen or adjusted by bacterial cultures and drug sensitivity results in the control group. Patients in the observation group were treated according to the principle of antibiotic de-escalation therapy. Antibiotics active against G+ and G- bacteria were chosen as the first round of medication. After 3 days, broad-spectrum antibiotics such as imipenem were added to the treatment regimen. After 7 days, the treatment was changed to narrow spectrum antibiotic administration if the disease was in remission, and the antibiotic regimen was adjusted based on bacterial culture and drug sensitivity results. The treatment results were compared. The mechanical ventilation rate, antibiotic courses, number of antibiotics used, and mortality of the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, lung function improved, partial pressure of oxygen and blood oxygen saturation increased, and partial pressure of carbon dioxide decreased in both groups. The improvement of all of the above parameters were more significant in the observation group (P<0.05). After treatment, the ratio of neutrophils over white blood cells and C-reactive protein levels of the two groups decreased, respiratory failure index (RFI) increased, and the changes were significantly more pronounced in the observation group (P<0.05). In conclusion, following the antibiotic de-escalation principle to treat older patients with COPD complicated with severe pneumonia can reduce the number of antibiotics required, improve lung function and clinical effects, and is safe and effective.

Pharmacophore generation, atom-based 3D-QSAR and molecular dynamics simulation analyses of pyridine-3-carboxamide-6-yl-urea analogues as potential gyrase B inhibitors

DNA gyrase subunit B (GyrB) is an attractive drug target for the development of antibacterial agents with therapeutic potential. In the present study, computational studies based on pharmacophore modelling, atom-based QSAR, molecular docking, free binding energy calculation and dynamics simulation were performed on a series of pyridine-3-carboxamide-6-yl-urea derivatives. A pharmacophore model using 49 molecules revealed structural and chemical features necessary for these molecules to inhibit GyrB. The best fitted model AADDR.13 was generated with a coefficient of determination (r²) of 0.918. This model was validated using test set molecules and had a good r² of 0.78. 3D contour maps generated by the 3D atom-based QSAR revealed the key structural features responsible for the GyrB inhibitory activity. Extra precision molecular docking showed hydrogen bond interactions with key amino acid residues of ATP-binding pocket, important for inhibitor binding. Further, binding free energy was calculated by the MM-GBSA rescoring approach to validate the binding affinity. A 10 ns MD simulation of inhibitor #47 showed the stability of the predicted binding conformations. We identified 10 virtual hits by in silico high-throughput screening. A few new molecules were also designed as potent GyrB inhibitors. The information obtained from these methodologies may be helpful to design novel inhibitors of GyrB.

Anthropometric measurements may be informative for nursing home-acquired pneumonia

Objective:

To evaluate the relationship between anthropometric measurements and Nursing Home-Acquired Pneumonia (NHAP) risk.

Methods:

Consecutive patients of 65 years or elderly who were living in the Balikli Rum Hospital Nursing Homes were included in this prospective study. At the beginning of this study, the patients’ anthropometrics values were measured. The patients were followed for one year, and any incidences of pneumonia attacks were recorded. The relationship between the anthropometric measurements and pneumonia occurrences was analyzed.

Results:

There were 133 inmates at the initial assessments. Of 108 patients who were eligible for the study, 77 (72.2%) were female and 37 (27.8%) were male. The mean age of the group was 79.8±10.5. Patients were assigned to a group according to the presence of pneumonia during the one -year follow-up. There were 74 (55.6%) patients who had suffered from at least one attack of pneumonia during the follow-up period. The mean triceps skinfold was significantly thinner in the pneumonia group, and the mean handgrip measurements in both the dominant and non-dominant hands were significantly weaker in the pneumonia group. Furthermore, the frequency of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) was significantly higher in this group (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

The risk of pneumonia was high in the elderly population who live in nursing homes. Simple anthropometric values may be predictive of the potential for Nursing Home-Acquired Pneumonia.