Pneumoccocal

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The mortality in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been reported similar or slightly increased as compared to that of the general population. However, deaths related to infectious and parasitic diseases have been repeatedly reported in clinical trials, open series and registries. The IBD patients are exposed to the same infections affecting the community, added to opportunistic infectious related to the immunosuppression. Some of these infectious diseases may be prevented by the appropriate use of a vaccination program...

UNLABELLED: Acute otitis media is one of the most common diseases in children aged 0-24 months and Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most frequently isolated bacterial pathogen of acute otitis media. It is well established and documented that the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine reduces the frequency of otitis media, especially caused by vaccine-serotype pneumococcus (4, 6B, 9, 14, 18C, 19F, 23F). However, this effect depends on the serotype distribution of isolated otopathogenic pneumococcal strains...

Patients with systemic autoimmune and/or inflammatory diseases have an increased risk of infections, particularly pneumoccocal invasive infections. Vaccination can prevent these infections. Available data about immunogenicity and safety of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in these patients indicate that, it remains well tolerated and most of the time immunogenic, even if the antibody response is lower compared to healthy controls. These data encourage to vaccinate these patients with pneumococcal vaccine...

OBJECTIVE: Smoking is associated with increased risk for respiratory infections. The objective of this study was to determine if differences in influenza and pneumoccocal vaccination rates exist based on smoking status. METHODS: Data from the 2006 Behavior Risk Fact Surveillance System (BRFSS) were used to examine Influenza vaccinations among respondents 50-years-old and older (n=198,500) and pneumococcal vaccinations among adults 65-years-old and older (n=61,894)...

The Streptococcus pneumoniae genomes encode up to three sialidases (or neuraminidases), NanA, NanB and NanC, which are believed to be involved in removing sialic acid from host cell surface glycans, thereby promoting colonization of the upper respiratory tract. Here, we present the crystal structure of NanB to 1.7 A resolution derived from a crystal grown in the presence of the buffer Ches (2-N-cyclohexylaminoethanesulfonic acid). Serendipitously, Ches was found bound to NanB at the enzyme active site, and was found to inhibit NanB with a K(i) of approximately 0...

Controversies regarding the safety and efficacy of immunization in patients with SLE have persisted for over 60 years. However infections are the main threat in these patients. There are concerns that immunization may cause SLE exacerbation. Evidence from prospective trials suggests that inactivated vaccines are probably safe in patients with stable or inactive disease. Live vaccines are contraindicated in immunocompromised hosts and patients on high dose steroids. Data regarding efficacy of vaccinations are scarce, mainly concerning influenza and pneumoccocal vaccine...

INTRODUCTION: Purulent pneumoccocal pericarditis are extremely rare since the introduction of antibiotics. EXEGESIS: A 59-year-old woman presented to the emergency room with a seven-day history of dyspnea and fever. No signs of heart failure or cardiac friction rub were evidenced. Laboratory tests disclosed elevated acute phase reactants and elevated white blood cells with a high neutrophil count. Chest radiograph showed cardiomegaly and a bilateral pleural effusion...

Pneumoccal infection of a total knee replacement is rare. We present a case of hematogeous pneumoccocal infection of a revision total knee arthroplasty as a complication of disseminated pneumoccocal sepsis. The patient was successfully treated with two stage reimplantation in addition to 8 weeks of intravenous moxifloxacin and penicillin, and remains infection free and functions well over 3 years postoperatively.

OBJECTIVE: The American Diabetes Association (ADA) does not recognize different treatment goals for the institutionalized adult compared with the outpatient adult with diabetes, nor has it outlined specific recommendations for this population. The purpose of this study was to examine physician management of patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes residing in extended-care facilities and to compare this management with ADA standards of care for the outpatient adult. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This retrospective chart review included data from 108 residents with type 1 or type 2 diabetes at 11 extended health care facilities in the Midwestern U...

BACKGROUND: Over the last decade Streptococcus pneumoniae has emerged as the most common bacterial pathogen for meningitis in all age groups, beyond the neonatal period. OBJECTIVE: To determine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics; and risk factors for mortality of pneumoccocal meningitis in children in a developing transitional country. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study that included patients<15 years of age admitted at the Instituto de Medicina Tropical of Paraguay, from January 1990 until December 2003 with the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis caused by S...

The treatment of children with AOM has to rely on an accurate diagnosis and a clear discrimination between AOM and serous otitis media. The last decade has seen major changes in the epidemiology of AOM with an earlier onset of disease and a greater proportion of children with recurrent/complicated AOM. The processes of changing susceptibility of bacterial pathogens added a major problem in treatment selection. Tastier, more efficient, safe and conveniently-dosing as well as cost effective drugs are required to achieve adherence to therapy...

CONTEXT: Improved preventive care and clinical outcomes among patients with diabetes can reduce complications and costs; however, diabetes care continues to be suboptimal. Few studies have described effective strategies for improving care among rural populations with diabetes. PURPOSE: In 2000, the Park County Diabetes Project and the Montana Diabetes Control Program collaboratively implemented a countywide effort, which included health systems interventions and coordinated diabetes education, to improve the quality of diabetes care...

To address the public health problem of antibiotic resistance, the European Union (EU) founded the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System. A network of 40 hospitals that serve approximately 30% of the Spanish population (about 12 million) participated. Each laboratory reported data on antimicrobial susceptibility testing using standard laboratory procedures that were evaluated by an external quality control program. The antibiotic consumption data were obtained from the National Health System...

French immunisation schedule recommends tetanus and poliomyelitis vaccine every 10 years and influenza every year after the age of 65. Several other vaccinations related to occupational health are implemented. Travellers or immunocompromised people who could be exposed to infections need some other vaccinations, too. Pneumoccocal vaccine coverage is insufficient. Reinforcing diphteria immunization is considered, using a recently licensed combined vaccine. Maintenance of immunity against "childhood infectious diseases" preventable with vaccinations is a new challenge; measles, rubella and pertussis occur now quite often in adults: the risk of complications is higher in these ages (measles), or expose to specific risk (rubella in pregnant women); adults may even become the source of the contamination of younger people (many infants affected with whooping cough have contracted the disease from their own parents)...

Pulmonary sarcoidosis is usually a chronic, insidious disease resulting from granuloma formation in the lung parenchyma. The epithelioid non-caseating granulomata of sarcoidosis are the result of a T-helper1-mediated immune reaction to an unknown self or foreign antigen. We describe the case of a patient with sarcoidosis and a coexistent common variable immunodeficiency who presented with rapidly progressive respiratory failure. This unusual presentation was followed by a complicated course with recurrent pneumoccocal infections, which could be explained by the coexistence of common variable immunodeficiency...

Nearly 4,000 splenectomies are currently performed per year, in France. Few is none about medical practices concerning anti-pneumoccocal immunization and prophylactic antibiotherapy in these patients. The risks of pneumococcal sepsis in splenectomized patients has not been recently reassessed. To address these issues, an observational study of patients undergoing splenectomy, with the enrollment of 600 to 800 patients per year on a 5-year period, is proposed.

Antibiotic therapy remains the treatment of choice for otitis media in most countries despite persuasive evidence that antibiotic therapy provides limited clinical benefit and promotes bacterial resistance. Meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled trials demonstrated that antibiotics increased resolution at 1 week by only 13%. Amoxicillin remains as effective as any other antibiotic, despite increasing resistance to amoxicillin among the major bacterial pathogens. Immediate antibiotic treatment has been shown to reduce the duration of symptoms by 1 day but not until after the first 24 hours when symptoms were already improving...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Despite advances in our knowledge of the pathogenesis and host immune response and efforts at prevention and treatment, S. pneumoniae continues to cause considerable disease and mortality. The currently available polysaccharide vaccines confer moderate protection in most adults and older children, but they are underutilized. There are an estimated 40,000 deaths per year among U.S. adults due to pneumococcus, of which nearly half might be prevented if the current recommendations for vaccination were followed...