Current opinion in pulmonary medicine
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Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) contributes significantly to morbidity and mortality, especially in the elderly. Recent advances aimed at improving outcomes and reducing CAP disease burden are summarized. ⋯ Despite these developments research aimed at further reducing CAP-related morbidity and mortality is required. Increasing global life expectancy is likely to expand the at-risk population; therefore, research directed at CAP prevention in view of changing demography is essential.
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This review discusses the current developments in biomarkers for sepsis. ⋯ The potential for novel biomarkers in sepsis will need to be properly realized with considerable funding, academic-industry collaborations, appropriate investigations and validation in heterogenous populations, but these developments do hold the capacity to transform patient care and outcomes.
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The recent evidence is reviewed on clinical epidemiology, trends in bacterial resistance, diagnostic tools and therapeutic options in hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), with a special focus on ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). ⋯ HAP/VAP is a major cause of deaths, morbidity and resources utilization, notably in patients with severe underlying conditions. The development of new diagnostic tools and therapeutic weapons is urgently needed to face the epidemic of multidrug-resistant pathogens.
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This review discusses the recent evidence on epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of drug-resistant and multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB), an area where solutions for better diagnosis and treatment continually develop. ⋯ The innovative diagnostic tools recently validated are changing the traditional paradigms of TB diagnosis, for too long based on sputum smear, culture, and drug susceptibility testing. New anti-TB compounds, which can be combined with several 'old' drugs with new indications, are gradually modifying the chances of cure for MDR-TB cases. Although initial evidence appears promising, the market use of new drugs must be accompanied by a serious public health approach aimed at preventing the development of further drug resistance.