Medizinische Universität Graz Austria/Österreich - Forschungsportal - Medical University of Graz
Gewählte Publikation:
Windhagauer, C.
Incidence and Etiology of Bacteremia in Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP)
Humanmedizin; [ Diplomarbeit ] Medical University of Graz; 2021. pp. 55
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- Autor*innen der Med Uni Graz:
- Betreuer*innen:
- Krause Robert
- Zollner-Schwetz Ines
- Altmetrics:
- Abstract:
- Background: Community-acquired pneumonia remains one of the most important disease entities worldwide, which can take severe courses and often become life-threatening. Both the incidence and etiology of bacteremia in patients with community-acquired pneumonia are actually not well known; yet, they form an important construct for the selection of specific antibiotics. Aim: The aim of this work is to summarize the incidence and etiology of bacteremia in patients with community-acquired pneumonia in different European countries, in order to be able to express an answer regarding the treatment. Furthermore, the general incidence of community-acquired pneumonia in different European countries will be discussed and, concerning the pathogen spectrum, comparisons will be drawn between blood cultures and cultures from different types of samples. Methods: Reference books, current guidelines, and articles from electronic databases were consulted. PubMed and Google Scholar databases were used to search for studies and scientific articles. Results: The overall incidence of community-acquired pneumonia has increased in all European countries studied in recent years. Similarly, it was shown that there is a correlation between age and incidence. The incidence increased with age. When it comes to the incidence of bacteremia, about 7-10% of blood cultures were positive. As for blood cultures, the most common pathogen by far was Streptococcus pneumoniae, followed by Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Haemophilus influenzae. Compared to blood cultures (3-4%), the pathogen Haemophilus influenzae was found more frequently (5-15%) in cultures from different types of samples (sputum, blood, tracheobronchial aspirate, bronchoscopic lavage, etc.). Similarly, the bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae could not be detected in isolated blood cultures and was more often detected in younger patients. The pathogens themselves were quite similar in terms of frequency in the European countries studied. The guideline-based antimicrobial therapy includes the most pathogens from blood cultures. Nevertheless, identifying the causative pathogen is important in order to make a targeted change or adjustment in therapy. As for the usefulness of blood cultures, no clear statement can be made due to the small number of studies and the fact that further investigation is needed in this regard.