Pneumonia

In years past, the nation's attempts to prevent flu-related deaths have focused on limiting transmission of the virus through widespread vaccination programs. This year, with school starting up well before a vaccine for the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus will be available, there will be little that can slow the spread of the virus for the next few months.

The third report since 2004 on how California hospitals treat pneumonia confirmed that where patients go can mean the difference between living and dying. Patients at the worst- performing hospitals were twice as likely to die as those at the best-ranked hospitals. Los Angeles County is in better shape than most, with 20 of 92 hospitals surveyed that rated "better than expected" and four that rated "worse than expected."

Five Kaiser Permanente hospitals were among the 28 institutions with the highest death rates in California for patients with pneumonia, according to a state report to be released today. The Kaiser hospitals in Sacramento, South Sacramento, Panorama City, Riverside and Roseville all had higher than average mortality rates between 2002 and 2004, said the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Statewide, 12.

A common cause of pneumonia can kill by causing bleeding in the lungs, researchers said Thursday in a finding that might explain why antibiotics fail to save many patients. They found that the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae secretes a toxin that causes severe bleeding in the lungs in some patients, killing them within days. The toxin is unaffected by antibiotics, which explains why the drugs often fail to save patients, the researchers reported in the journal Immunity.

Hospitals serving the Inland Empire overall ranked worst in the country last year in their treatment of patients with heart attacks and pneumonia, according to a new study. A team of Boston researchers found that the 21 hospitals covering most of San Bernardino and Riverside counties were least likely to meet national medical standards proven to increase patients' chances of survival.

The flu-shot shortage makes it more imperative for elderly Americans to get a second, often overlooked vaccine that protects against a type of pneumonia germ that's a common complication of flu. Called pneumococcal vaccine, it's a one-time shot for anyone 65 or older. Younger people with heart and lung diseases, diabetes or weak immune systems need it too. It's not a replacement for a flu shot; high-risk patients should continue trying to find that.

Widely used heartburn and ulcer drugs such as Nexium, Pepcid and Prilosec can make people more susceptible to pneumonia, probably because they reduce germ-killing stomach acid, researchers have found. In a study, the highest risks occurred with more powerful acid-fighting drugs called proton pump inhibitors, which are sold in the United States under such brand names as Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec.

Germs found in dental plaque can make their way into the lungs and cause potentially fatal pneumonia in elderly nursing home patients, U.S. researchers reported Tuesday. Though the study was small, the researchers said they found clear evidence that the pneumonia that eight patients developed while in the hospital had originated from their dental plaque. "This is the first study to establish unequivocally a link between dental hygiene and respiratory infection," said Dr.

A rare and sometimes deadly pneumonia has hit 19 U.S. soldiers deployed in Iraq, and Army medical investigators cannot explain the cause, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. Researchers from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center said two of the soldiers had died from the rare illness, called acute eosinophilic pneumonia, or AEP. No common source was found for the outbreak from March 2003 to March 2004 among soldiers in Iraq.

The World Health Organization on Saturday issued a rare emergency advisory cautioning travelers and airline employees to be on the alert for a severe form of pneumonia that has killed at least nine people and hospitalized hundreds of others, particularly in the Far East. The advisory did not call for a halt in travel, but it warned travelers to be alert for the symptoms of the disease and to seek treatment immediately if such symptoms become apparent.