BACKGROUND Legionella species, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Chlamydia pneumoniae are recognized as important causes of pneumonia in high-income countries, but their significance in middle-income countries, such as Thailand, is unknown. METHODS Population-based surveillance identified inpatient 3489 cases of clinically-defined pneumonia in a rural Thai province for 1 year. Patients who had a che...

BACKGROUND Pneumonia is a leading cause of hospitalization and death among children in Africa. We describe the clinical presentation of severe pneumonia among hospitalized children in a malaria endemic area with a high prevalence of HIV infection. METHODS As part of a 2-year prospective study of radiologically confirmed pneumonia, chest radiographs, malaria parasite counts and bacterial blood...

Introduction: Healthcare- Associated Infections (HAI) are known to be one of the most important health issues in developed and developing countries. The most common infections include central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia and surgical site infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of ...

OBJECTIVES The "Pneumonia Zero" project is a nationwide multimodal intervention based on the simultaneous implementation of a comprehensive evidence-based bundle measures to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients admitted to the ICU. DESIGN Prospective, interventional, and multicenter study. SETTING A total of 181 ICUs throughout Spain. PATIENTS All patients ad...

The public health benefit of conjugate pneumococcal vaccine (PCV) in preventing pneumonia would only be appreciated if the tool used for measuring "pneumococcal pneumonia" had good sensitivity. Exploratory studies in South Africa indicate that the sensitivity of "radiologically-confirmed pneumonia" (CXR-AC) underestimates the burden of pneumococcal pneumonia prevented by PCV by as much as 63%. ...

OBJECTIVE Ventilator-associated pneumonia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia may improve outcomes, but optimal methods to ensure implementation of guidelines in the intensive care unit are unclear. Hence, we determined the effect o...

BACKGROUND Ventilator-associated pneumonia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of mechanical (toothbrushing), pharmacological (topical oral chlorhexidine), and combination (toothbrushing plus chlorhexidine) oral care on the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation. METHODS Cr...

STUDY OBJECTIVES To determine whether an educational initiative could decrease rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia in a regional health-care system. SETTING Two teaching hospitals (one adult, one pediatric) and two community hospitals in an integrated health system. DESIGN Preintervention and postintervention observational study. PATIENTS Patients admitted to the four participating h...