International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Oct 2010
ReviewClinical and economic burden of pneumonia among adults in Latin America.
The clinical and economic burden of adult community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Latin America is not well known. We conducted a literature review to describe the etiology, incidence, hospitalization, morbidity and mortality, antibiotic resistance, costs associated with care, and the potential benefits of pneumococcal vaccination in the reduction of adult CAP in Latin America. Data that were published during the period from January 1970 through August 2008 were identified via the Web sites and databases of the Pan American Health Organization, Latin American health agencies, and the US National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE). ⋯ The mortality in Latin America due to lower respiratory tract infections has been reported to be 6%, compared with 4% in developed regions, and CAP was the third most frequent cause of death in adults in 31 Latin American countries in 2001-2003. Although S. pneumoniae caused the majority of CAP, similar to other regions of the world, mortality due to CAP in Latin America was substantially greater than that in developed countries. This review demonstrates the need to facilitate standardized surveillance and reporting systems to monitor the burden of CAP and to implement prevention strategies to decrease the clinical and economic burden of CAP in Latin American adults.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Oct 2010
Infection control: the case for horizontal rather than vertical interventional programs.
The authors define two types of infection control interventions: horizontal, in which all infections at any site are reduced; and vertical, in which only specific organisms are targeted. We suggest that horizontal programs should form the platform of all infection control programs and the key question should be, what is the incremental value of a new vertical program?