There is considerable variation in the management of pneumonia in community settings. Appropriate management of pneumonia depends on the site and severity of the infection and involves treatment with antibiotics where evidence of infection is present, supportive care such as oxygen supplementation or IV antibiotics where evidence is present, and discharge.
Signs of pneumonia include malaise, dry cough, tachypnea and low level of oxygen. Abnormal chest radiographs and elevated levels of C-reactive protein are common among people admitted to hospital with a diagnosis. If the diagnosis is unknown, chest radiography is required to demonstrate pneumonia.
Around 16 million US adults are diagnosed with pneumonia a year. The most common type of pneumonia is bacterial and viral pneumonia. The prevalence increases with age. It is a major cause of death in older adults. It is more prevalent in male than in female patients. The most common cause is is due to an unknown agent.
The exact cause of pneumonia is not clearly understood. A number of factors, including genetics, environment, inflammation, and infection by bacteria or viruses are thought to play a role. Inappropriate treatment may also make it harder to expel the infection from the lungs. The risk of complications is also increased for very young children and people who are immunocompromised. It is a common cause among people of all ages. It is most common in children between the ages of 0 and 9. It occurs most often in male children. People who are very young are more likely to be afflicted with pneumonic plague. Overall, pneumonia has the highest number of deaths of any human illness.
Pneumonia is a common and dangerous lung infection that can cause high fever, chills, dizziness, and shortness of breath. It is the most common cause of death in the community. Its cause and cure have been unclear since ancient times. Pneumonia can be divided into four types. Each has its own character and treatment. Lung infection can be caused by a number of infectious agents including viruses, bacterium, and fungi. Pneumonia is also a frequent complication of chronic lung disease and a major health issue affecting a large minority of patients hospitalized with acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis. It is the most common cause of death in ICU.
Pneumonia is always a danger of dying. Treatments can improve outcomes of those who have a chronic illness. For every 1-decrease in mortality associated with pneumonia, 12-increase in life expectancy is observed.
In clinical practice, amoxicillin is frequently used, but it is not always as effective as first-generation drugs in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia. It can be administered as an alternative to first-generation drugs in cases of resistance; the most commonly reported mutations are in the 'Q' penicillin-binding proteins. Further studies with adequate treatment lengths are needed before it can become a therapeutic option alone.
In this population with moderate or advanced pneumonias, no improvement in HRQoL was observed with amoxicillin versus placebo. The fact that most people in this study were frail, the small number of patients in each trial and the heterogeneity of treatment allocation ratios in previous trials make these findings inconclusive. However, this study demonstrates that the absence of any negative impact on HRQoL following treatment failure in this frail and heterogeneous population may be important, and suggests that the use of amoxicillin should be considered in this group.
While the newer amoxicillin formulations have their share of advantages over older formulations, there is no major advantage of using new formulations; in general, newer formulations offer the same (or slightly better) clinical effect as amoxicillin and at lower cost. Thus, the choice between different formulations should not be based on potential advantages of using newer formulations.
The current research for pneumonia is primarily directed to the treatment of pneumonia, the diagnosis and management of pneumonia, and the prevention of pneumonia in immunocompromised people.
In the last 7 yr, there were many small trials. Almost all were published by non-American authors. Most trials were based in North America or Europe. There was no information regarding the publication of trials involving amoxicillin and treatment of acute respiratory infections. There is a strong need for a review to describe the current status of the use of amoxicillin in acute respiratory infections.