Active clinical trials for "Pneumonia"

To describe the relief of symptoms, tolerability, and compliance of treatment with Klacid® sustained release (SR) at a dose of 1000 mg once daily in patients with acute tracheitis, acute tracheobronchitis, acute bronchitis, or in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis or mild community-acquired pneumonia. This postmarketing observational study is non-interventional and is being conducted in a prospective, single-arm, single-country, multicenter format. Klacid SR will be prescribed in usual manner in accordance with the terms of the local market authorization with regards to dose, population, and indication as well as with local guidelines.

The aim of this post-marketing observational study (PMOS) is to describe the relief of symptoms, tolerability and compliance of treatment with Klacid®SR in a dose 1000 mg once daily in patients with lower respiratory tract infection or in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (AECB) or mild community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

In this study, subjects meeting criteria will be enrolled and randomized to one of two different suctioning schemes, either continuous or intermittent. Accumulated secretions will be collected above the cuff on the breathing tube by one of the two methods depending on which group the subject is randomized into. Secretions will continue to be collected at predetermined periods of time for the duration of surgery in order to characterize the pH and volume as well as the micro-organism content.

Key words : serum, pleural effusion, procalcitonin, pneumonia Pneumonia is the common cause of pleural effusion (ranged 2nd) and bacterial infection is the main etiology of pneumonia. Procalcitonin, the prohormone of calcitonin, is a 116 amino-acid protein produced by C-cell of the thyroid gland. During severe infection, procalcitonin is probably produced by extra-thyroid tissues and the concentration increased rapidly in bacterial infection but remains low in viral infections. However, the exact origin and pathophysiological role of procalcitonin during sepsis is not clear and it is not a marker of infection as such, since localized infections or infections with no systemic manifestation cause a little if any increase in procalcitonin levels. This study will focus on assessing the value of procalcitonin in pleural effusion for diagnosis, severity and prognosis among community-acquired pneumonia with pleural effusion, such as in serum. 100 patients with clinical pneumonia infection score over six points diagnosed of community-acquired pneumonia and proved to have pleural effusion by chest sonography on admission will be studied prospectively. Serum and effusion procalcitonin levels will be measured initially and 3 days later after medical therapy. Bacterial pneumonia will be identified if bacteria was cultured from any one of the three kinds of specimen, including blood, pleural effusion or bronchoalveolar lavage. Then we will divide one hundred of patients into bacterial or non-bacterial groups. Finally, we will analyze demographic and procalcitonin data of serum and pleural effusion between these two groups and compare the difference between the severe or mild and response or non-response bacterial community-acquired pneumonia statistically. The aim of the study will be to verify whether procalcitonin levels measured in the serum and pleural effusion could serve as a predictor for bacterial community-acquired pneumonia with pleural effusion and the different levels will also be indicative of severity and prognosis. We hope that the predictor from pleural effusion will be more sensitive or specific than that from serum and could be detectable in localized bacterial infection.

The purpose of this study is to collect additional data on hospitalized Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) on health states, health outcomes and on (health) resources and estimate the differences in the quality of life and resources of elderly persons with and without CAP.

This study will follow 1000 refugee infants from birth for two years. The aim of the study is to better understand why some children develop infections caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae whilst others merely carry this organism asymptomatically at the back of the nose (in the nasopharynx). The investigators will also define which micro-organisms cause lower respiratory tract infections (e.g., pneumonia) in this population in order to implement appropriate interventions (e.g., vaccines). Infants will be reviewed monthly and a nasopharyngeal swab will be taken. A group of 250 mother-infant pairs will be studied in greater detail, to improve our understanding of the frequency and outcomes of nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Monthly nasopharyngeal swabs will be collected from mothers and infants. The investigators will measure the infant immune response to Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage or disease by taking monthly blood samples. The investigators will make an assessment of the protective effect of antibodies acquired from the mother during pregnancy by taking blood from the mother and placenta at birth. An assessment of pneumococcal carriage in mothers will also be made to determine how frequently the bacterium is transmitted between family members. All lower respiratory tract infections will be documented, and the causative micro-organisms identified.

Poor oral hygiene is associated with respiratory pathogen colonization and secondary lung infection.The possible association between oral care and incidence of VAP, and the role of dental plaque, mouth and tracheal colonization have not been firmly established. The investigators' hypothesis was that improving oral care with electrical toothbrushing might be effective in reducing the incidence of VAP.

The purpose of this prospective, multicentre, time-series study is to develop, implement, refine, and evaluate a sustainable behaviour change strategy in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Traumatic injury in rural America is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, and the challenges of a rural trauma system can put patients at unique risk. Prolonged transport times to a trauma center, stopping for care at referring hospitals, and longer exposure to care-associated factors distinguish rural patients from their urban counterparts. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a significant risk in rural patients, increasing hospital stay, healthcare costs, and even mortality in the critically injured. The investigators propose a pilot study to test the hypothesis that a single dose of oral chlorhexidine gluconate (antiseptic) for trauma patients in the prehospital environment will decrease subsequent development of early VAP. Chlorhexidine is currently a standard therapy in intensive care units to prevent airway colonization and subsequent development of VAP. Demonstrating safety and effectiveness of prehospital infection control practices could significantly improve outcomes of traumatic injury in rural America.

Pneumonia is the commonest cause of death in children worldwide, killing 1.5 million children under the age of 5 years, every year. This is more than the number of children dying from AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. The current diagnostic and management protocols for managing serious respiratory diseases in children are 30 years old and are greatly in need of updating. The successful establishment of useful clinical management criteria for children with respiratory diseases will have benefits for children in low resource regions around the world. The goals of the study are: To determine if children with respiratory distress can be reliably diagnosed under low-resource conditions. To identify the clinical tests that best differentiate pneumonia from wheezy diseases. These will be used to establish updated diagnostic criteria for common pediatric lung diseases that broaden the current pneumonia algorithm by adding another for wheezy illnesses. The ultimate objective is to improve the management and outcome of acute respiratory conditions in children. Investigators also wish to test the efficacy of a locally developed cell phone oximeter probe in a low resource setting.