Respiratory medicine
-
Respiratory medicine · Sep 2005
Multicenter StudyEtiology of community acquired pneumonia among adult patients requiring hospitalization in Taiwan.
There has not been a comprehensive multi-center study investigating the microbial profile of community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Taiwan. ⋯ S. pneumoniae was the most common etiology agent in adult patients hospitalized due to CAP in Taiwan and the spectrum of other major pathogens was similar to studies conducted elsewhere in the world. Empiric treatment recommendations developed in other parts of the world may be appropriately adapted for local use after taking into account local resistance profiles. Our data also support the recommendation that urine antigen test be added as an adjunct to adult CAP etiology diagnosis protocol.
-
Respiratory medicine · Sep 2005
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyComparison of BALF concentrations of ENA-78 and IP10 in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia.
Epithelial neutrophil-activating peptide 78 (ENA-78) and interferon gamma-inducible protein 10 (IP10) belong to the CXC chemokine family and are considered to be important factors in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Idiopathic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) and IPF are the two largest subsets of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIP). In patients with NSIP, the prognosis is generally good compared with IPF. Therefore, the pathogenesis of NSIP seems to be different from that of IPF, but this remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the contribution of ENA-78 and IP10 in the two diseases. ⋯ Our results show distinct profiles of CXC chemokines in IPF and NSIP, and suggest that these chemokines play an important role in inflammatory cell recruitment into the lung in patients with IIP.