Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is still a common disease that seriously affects people’s health. It is of great clinical significance for proper anti-infective therapy to identify the characteristics and changes of the pathogens. Along with the accelerated process of aging population, increased use of immunosuppression agents, and increased morbidity of malignant tumor and underlying diseases, the pathogenic spectrum of patients with CAP varies as well. This article reviews the important pathogenic changes of CAP in recent years.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of aerosolized aminoglycoside antibiotics in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) by meta-analysis.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP and Wanfang Data for the Chinese and English literature on aerosolized aminoglycoside antibiotics for VAP until May, 2018. After data extraction and quality evaluation, RevMan 5.2 software was performed for meta-analysis.ResultsA total of 9 randomized controlled trials and a total of 543 patients were included in this study. Compared with patients treated with non-atomized inhaled aminoglycoside antibiotics, meta-analysis showed that aerosol inhalation of amikacin significantly improved the clinical cure rate of patients with VAP ［odds ratio (OR)=2.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.50, 3.75), P=0.000 2］, nebulized tobramycin ［OR=2.30, 95%CI (0.92, 5.78), P=0.08］ and two or more antibiotics ［OR=2.00, 95%CI (0.62, 6.46), P=0.25］ had no significant effect on the clinical cure rate of patients with VAP; aerosolized aminoglycoside antibiotics had no significant effect on mortality of patients ［OR=1.17, 95%CI (0.66, 2.07), P=0.59］ and tracheal spasm rate ［OR=2.39, 95%CI (0.94, 6.11), P=0.07］ and renal dysfunction rate ［OR=0.62, 95%CI (0.32, 1.21), P=0.16］ in patients with VAP.ConclusionInhalation of amikacin can significantly improve the clinical cure rate of patients with VAP, but it can not reduce the mortality rate of patients; the safety of aerosolized aminoglycoside antibiotics is good, and the risk of tracheal spasm and renal function damage in patients with VAP is not increased.
Bronchiectasis is a heterogeneous disease characterized by abnormal expansion of the bronchi, manifested by cough, sputum, and recurring lung infections. As one of the common fungi of lung infection, aspergillus can not only appear as the outcome of the disease in bronchiectasis, but also as an inducement to participate in the disease progression, and ultimately complicate the course of bronchiectasis. This article describes the susceptibility factors and pathogenic mechanisms of aspergillus in bronchiectasis, and further introduces the diagnosis and treatment status of bronchiectasis combined with aspergillus infection, aiming to clarify the effect of aspergillus infection on bronchiectasis and provide new thinking directions for its clinical diagnosis and treatment.
Sarcoidosis is a multi-organ inflammatory disorder characterized by the presence of non-caseating granulomas primarily affecting the lungs. The pathogenesis of sarcoidosis has not been fully clarified. In recent years, studies have suggested that a variety of pathogen infections, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Propionibacterium acnes, fungi, viruses, may be related to the occurrence and progression of sarcoidosis. This article reviews the researches on sarcoidosis and pathogen infection, aiming to explore the potential role of pathogen infection in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis and provide another direction for the treatment of sarcoidosis.
The common cold is the most common acute respiratory infectious disease, with a high incidence and widespread susceptibility. Most common colds are self-limited but can lead to serious social and economic burdens. In recent years, the symptoms of common cold patients have been complex and diverse, and some patients can develop serious complications, even threatening their lives. The Anti-infection Committee, Emergency Doctor Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association has developed the Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Common Cold in Adults, 2023, which explored 15 important issues related to clinical practice. This article provides a detailed and comprehensive interpretation of the guideline, in order to better understand the diagnosis and treatment of adult common cold and serve clinical practice.
Pulmonary fibrosis is a kind of chronic and fibrotic lung disease caused by a variety of reasons, and its main pathological characteristic is excessive scar formation after the destruction of normal lung tissue structure, which eventually leads to respiratory insufficiency. Although the research on the pathophysiological mechanism of pulmonary fibrosis has made great progress, its pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated, and it is still clinically incurable. In recent years, studies have shown that non-coding RNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis, therefore, this article summarizes the related research progress of non-coding RNA in regulation of pulmonary fibrosis by affecting epithelial-mesenchymal transition, fibroblast activation and function of macrophages, in order to provide new ideas for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.
Objective To systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of macrolides in the prevention of COPD exacerbation. Methods The literatures concerning both randomized controlled trials ( RCTs ) and clinical control study of COPD were searched in PUBMED, EMBASE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure ( CNKI) ,Wanfang, and Chinese Science and Technology Journal Full-text Database ( VIP) ( last updated in September 2012) . The quality assessment and data extraction for RCTs were conducted by two reviewers independently.Meta-analyses were conducted with the Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 4. 2 software. Results In all trials, the results indicated that the frequency of acute exacerbation in the macrolide treatment group was decreased compared with the control group [ RR= 0. 63, 95% CI( 0. 50, 0. 79) ] . The frequency of acute exacerbation treated with macrolides was significantly decreased in Asians [ RR= 0. 58, 95% CI ( 0. 44, 0. 75) ] but not in Caucasians [ RR = 0. 79, 95% CI ( 0. 47, 1. 31) ] . The frequency of acute exacerbation treated with roxithromycin was significantly decreased compared with the control group [ RR=0. 54,95% CI( 0. 32, 0. 91) ] . In addition, the macrolides treatment had no side effects except for a few and mild gastrointestinal adverse effects. Conclusion Macrolides may be an effective drug to prevent COPD exacerbation.
Objective To evaluate the association between N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) gene polymorphisms and the risk of antituberculosis drug-induced liver injury (ATDILI). Methods We searched the PubMed, Embase, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Internet and VIP databases to find case-control studies, with the last updated search being performed on June 2017. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to evaluate the strength of association. Results A total of 29 studies, involving 1 382 cases and 5 967 controls were included. The results of the Meta-analysis indicated that NAT2 slow acetylators were associated with increased risk of ATDILI compared with fast and intermediate acetylators [OR=3.08, 95%CI (2.44, 3.88), P<0.000 01]. Similar results were also found in subgroup analysis when stratified by ethnicity, isoniazid dosage and diagnostic criteria of ATDILI. Conclusion Individuals with NAT2 slow acetylators may have increased risk of ATDILI.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the association between the level of plasma YKL-40 and obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).MethodsWe searched PubMed, EMbase, MEDLINE, CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP database and supplemented by Google academic retrieval to collect case-control studies about the association between the level of plasma YKL-40 and OSAHS from inception to April 2017. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and evaluated the risk of bias of included studies. And then, meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 5 case-control studies were included, involving 755 OSAHS patients and control population. The results of meta-analysis showed that the level of plasma YKL-40 in OSAHS patients was higher than that in control group (SMD=1.20, 95%CI 0.33 to 2.06, P=0.007). The subgroup analysis showed that the level of plasma YKL-40 in OSAHS patients from Asia was significantly higher than that in control group (SMD=1.79, 95%CI 0.83 to 2.75, P=0.000 2). The comparison between different severity of OSAHS showed that the wild-medium group had lower plasma level of YKL-40 than the severe group (SMD=–0.83, 95%CI –1.46 to –0.19, P=0.01).ConclusionYKL-40 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of OSAHS. Due to limited quantity and quality of the included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify above conclusions.
Objective To evaluate the prognostic values of CURB-65 score and inflammatory factors in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Methods A retrospective study was conducted in hospitalized adult CAP patients in West China Hospital between January 1st, and December 31th, 2013. Data of CURB-65 score and serum levels of inflammatory factors (WBC, ESR, PCT, CRP, IL-6 and ALB) on admission and clinical outcomes were collected. The associations between CURB-65 score, inflammatory factors and clinical outcomes were examined. Logistic regression analysis was performed to develop combined models to predict in-hospital death of CAP patients, and ROC analysis was conducted to measure and compare the prognostic values of CURB-65 score, inflammatory factors or combined models. Results A total of 505 hospitalized CAP patients were included. 81 patients died during the hospitalization and the in-hospital mortality rate was 16.0%. Possible risk factors of in-hospital death included old age, male sex, hypertension, cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases, multi-lobular pneumonic infiltration, high risk scores, ICU admission, mechanical ventilation and severe pneumonia (all P values<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that CURB-65 score, ALB and IL-6 were the independent factors in predicting in-hospital death of CAP patients and the area under curve (AUC) of them while predicting in-hospital death were 0.75 (95%CI 0.69 to 0.81), 0.75 (95%CI 0.69 to 0.81) and 0.75 (95%CI 0.69 to 0.80), respectively. ROC analysis found that ALB and IL-6 could improve the AUC of CURB-65 score significantly while predicting the in-hospital death (P<0.05). When ALB and IL-6 were added to the CURB-65 score simultaneously, the AUC was improved to 0.84 (95%CI 0.80 to 0.87). When IL-6 or ALB was added to the CURB-65 score to form a new scale, the AUC of the new scale was significantly higher than that of the CURB-65 score in predicting in-hospital death (P<0.001). Conclusion The prognostic values of CURB-65 score and inflammatory factors may be not ideal when they are used alone in hospitalized CAP patients. IL-6 and ALB may significantly improve the prognostic value of CURB-65 score in predicting in-hospital death.