BACKGROUND Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common causative pathogen in community-acquired pneumonia. Mast cells (MCs) are located mainly at the host-environment interface where they function as sentinels. OBJECTIVE Our goal was to study the role of MCs during pneumonia caused by S. pneumoniae. METHODS Lung tissue of patients who had died from pneumococcal pneumonia or a nonpulmonary c...

Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia is one of the most common invasive diseases caused by this human pathogen. S. aureus alpha-hemolysin, a pore-forming cytotoxin, is an essential virulence factor in the pathogenesis of pneumonia. Vaccine-based targeting of this toxin provides protection against lethal staphylococcal pneumonia in a murine model system, suggesting that a monoclonal antibody-based th...

O u t c o m e s For RCTs, the outcomes included pneumococcal pneumonia, all-cause pneumonia, pneumonia mortality, and all-cause mortality. M a i n r e s u l t s 15 RCTs met the selection criteria. The trials included 75197 patients, and follow-up ranged from 18 months to 4 years. 3 trials involved older persons, and 3 trials involved patients with chronic disease. The publication date of the tr...

OBJECTIVES Community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus necrotizing pneumonia is a life-threatening disease. Panton Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) has been associated with necrotizing pneumonia. PVL triggers inflammasome activation in human macrophages leading to IL-1β release. IL-1β activates lung epithelial cells to release IL-8. This study aimed to assess the relevance of this inflammatory cascade i...

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common and potentially serious illness associated with considerable morbidity and mortality, particularly in patients infected with Multidrug resistance (MDR) Gram-negative bacilli. After S. pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the second most common pneumonia causing pathogen followed by K. pneumoniae and S. aureus in India. An alarming rise in the inci...

The aim of this study was to compare between polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and bacterial culture in detection of Streptococcus Pneumonia and M. Catarrhalis in otitis media with effusion (OME) in children. Fifty patients having OME were included in this study between 2003 and 2008. Myringotomy and tympanostomy tube insertion were done in every patient and the middle ear effusion samples were a...

BACKGROUND Determining whether methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a true causative pathogen or reflective of colonization when MRSA is cultured from the respiratory tract remains important in treating patients with pneumonia. METHODS We evaluated the bacterial microbiota in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) using the clone library method with a 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) ge...

OBJECTIVES To examine predictors and outcomes of Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia (SAP) in people with HIV compared with Streptococcus pneumoniae Pneumonia (SPP), and to compare Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus (MRSA) with Methicillin-Sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) pneumonias in this population. METHODS We conducted a retrospective case-control study of HIV-infected patients admitted to a single ce...

Although the Gram stain and culture of expectorated sputum are considered standard methods for the diagnosis of presumptive pneumococcal pneumonia, these methods remain relatively insensitive and nonspecific. We developed an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the quantitation of pneumococcal C polysaccharide (PnC) in the sputum of patients with presumptive pneumococcal pneumonia. Of 34 patient sputum...