[New clinical guidelines for COPD - a paradigm shift: A review].

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is now one of the most common noncommunicable diseases and the main causes of morbidity, disability and mortality in the world. In recent years, new approaches to epidemiology, diagnosis, classification (categorization), evaluation of phenotypes, as well as characterization and assessment of the severity of сhronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations have emerged. Modern approaches to starting and subsequent drug therapy have changed significantly. This is largely due to the results of recently conducted major clinical trials, demonstrated high efficacy of triple fixed combinations, including inhaled glucocorticosteroids, long-acting beta-agonists and long-acting anticholinergic drugs. The use of non-medication methods (smoking cessation, physical activity and respiratory rehabilitation) and modern approaches to the treatment of respiratory failure and antibiotic therapy remain important. In terms of their significance, all these updates have a significant impact on real clinical practice and can be considered as a novel paradigm of the approaches to the diagnosis and management of this disease.

[Clarithromycin for community-acquired pneumonia in adults: focus on anti-inflammatory properties].

AIM: To evaluate clinical efficacy, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activity of clarithromycin in adults with severe community-acquired pneumonia (sCAP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective observational study recruited adult hospitalized patients with verified sCAP. Clarithromycin was prescribed as a component of combination antibiotic therapy (ABT) with a ß-lactam antibiotic (AB). The choice of ß-lactam AB was carried out by the attending physician in accordance with national clinical guidelines and routine practice of the medical institution. Along with assessment clinical efficacy, the dynamics of inflammatory markers in blood serum was recorded: C-reactive protein, procalcitonin (PCT), tumor necrosis factor α, interleukins 1-beta (IL-1) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). The total duration of ABT was 7-14 days. RESULTS: Altogether 20 patients (13 males, 7 females) aged from 18 to 84 years old were enrolled. As a result of the use of combined ABT with ß-lactam AB and clarithromycin, a significant decrease in the level of C-reactive protein was noted by the 3-5th day of therapy (from 74.6 to 14.1 mg/l). An increase in serum PCT was observed in half of the patients; during treatment, the level of PCT significantly decreased. Similar dynamics was detected for IL-6 - its content in the blood serum decreased by the time of the end of ABT by 6.8 times compared with the baseline. A decrease in the level of tumor necrosis factor α to the reference value was observed in most patients already in the early stages - by 3-5 days of ABT. The majority of patients showed positive dynamics of clinical signs and symptoms with resolution of respiratory failure and other complications of sCAP. In almost half of the patients, the criteria for clinical stability were achieved in the early stages, which made it possible to switch to oral ABT. CONCLUSION: The results of the study are consistent with literature data indicating a rapid decrease in inflammatory markers when clarithromycin is administered to patients with sCAP. Its results can be a starting point for comparative randomized trials assessing both clinical outcomes and immunological parameters when using different classes of antibiotics for the treatment of sCAP.

[Problems and opportunities to improve diagnosis of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Russia: resolution of advisory board].

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease remain major problems of medicine, and still there is need to improve the level and quality of diagnosis of these diseases. Primary care physicians (general practitioners, therapists) should be involved widely and actively in this process. To simplify the diagnosis, special questionnaires have been developed, they can be used in a real clinical practice. Only this approach will bring statistical data closer to the true prevalence of these diseases and improve quality of their treatment.

["Difficult" pneumonia].

The article considers the issues of therapeutic management of patients with so-called difficult pneumonia, particularly, patients with diagnosed syndrome slowly resolving / nonresolving pneumonia, who do not respond to the treatment. The reasons and significant risk factors potentially affecting the effectiveness of therapy are analyzed, the therapeutic tactics of managing patients with no response to treatment are considered, the list of necessary diagnostic methods and directions of antibiotic therapy is updated. The article analyses the tactics of managing patients with pneumonia during a pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. It also provides directions of diagnostics with priority discussion of biological markers of the inflammatory response as well as antimicrobial therapy strategy.

[Etiology of severe community - acquired pneumonia in adults: results of the first Russian multicenter study].

AIM: to study the etiology of severe community - acquired pneumonia (SCAP) in adults in Russian Federation. SCAP is distinguished by high mortality and socio - economic burden. Both etiology and antimicrobial resistance are essential for appropriate antibiotic choice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective cohort study recruited adults with confirmed diagnosis of SCAP admitted to multi - word hospitals of six Russian cities in 2014-2018. Etiology was confirmed by routine culture of blood, respiratory (sputum, endotracheal aspirate or bronchoalveolar lavage) and when appropriate, autopsy samples, urinary antigen tests (L. pneumophila serogroup 1, S. pneumoniae); real - time PCR for identification of "atypical" bacterial pathogens (M. pneumoniae, C. pneumoniae, L. pneumophila) and respiratory viruses (influenza viruses A and B, parainfluenza, human metapneumovirus, etc.) was applied. RESULTS: Altogether 109 patients (60.6% male; mean age 50.8±18.0 years old) with SCAP were enrolled. Etiological agent was identified in 65.1% of patients, S. pneumoniae, rhinovirus, S. aureus and K. pneumoniae were the most commonly isolated pathogens (found in 43.7, 15.5, 14.1 and 11.3% of patients with positive results of microbiological investigations, respectively). Bacteriemia was seen in 14.6% of patients and most commonly associated with S. pneumoniae. Co - infection with 2 or more causative agents was revealed in 36.6% of cases. Combination of bacterial pathogens (mainly S. pneumoniae with S. aureus or/and Enterobacterales) prevailed - 57.7% of cases; associations of bacteria and viruses were identified in 38.5% of patients, different viruses - in one case. CONCLUSION: S. pneumoniae was the most common pathogen in adults with SCAP. A high rate of respiratory viruses (mainly rhinovirus and influenza viruses) identification both as mixt infection with bacteria and mono - infection should be taken into account.

[Prophylaxis of Community-Acquired Pneumonia Outbreaks with Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine. Prospects Analysis for Russian Military Community].

Pneumococcal pneumonia and other diseases caused by pneumococci still remain the main factors of high morbidity and mortality rates throughout the world. Pneumococci as the leading pathogens of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), acute otitis media and sinusitis also cause a number of other serious systemic disorders including invasive infections with high mortality in spite of the antimicrobial resistance status and adequate antimicrobials choice. Pneumococcal infections are responsible for 5-35% or more of community-acquired pneumonias. The burden of pneumonia (up to 100-200 per thousand) is recorded among military recruits in training centers. Since the specific environment of the soldiers could be carrected, their health protection requires medical surveillance. For these reasons, polysaccharide and more immunogenic conjugated pneumococcal vaccines were developed. There is now an urgent need to understand whether such vaccines are effective in military conscripts. Controversy about the effectiveness and value of the polysaccharide (PPV-23) vaccine as a CAP morbidity restriction measure still persists. There were implemented plenty of metaanalyses of pneumococcal vaccines in adults. Some of them showed that the vaccine was effective against bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia in 'low risk' healthy adults and elders. There have been a number of poor quality observational studies in Russia where 'all pneumonia cases' were considered as an endpoint. It remains controversial whether these observational studies provide adequate evidence to justify the use of the polysaccharide vaccine in the groups of healthy young men for whom it is being advocated. In our analysis we found weak evidence supporting pneumococcal vaccination with PPV-23 for this group. Nevertheless, favorable tendency was found to immunize. It is the reason for a trail to find pharmacoepidemiological support for vaccination by novel conjugated vaccines with better immunogenicity.

[Diagnostics and antimicrobial therapy of severe community-acquired pneumonia].

In the current paper authors presented the latest information concerning etiology of severe community-acquired pneumonia. Most cases are caused by a relatively small number ofpathogenic bacterial and viral natures. The frequency of detection of various pathogens of severe community-acquired pneumonia may vary greatly depending on the region, season and clinical profile of patients, availability of relevant risk factors. Authors presented clinical characteristics of severe community-acquired pneumonia and comparative evaluation of a number of scales to assess the risk of adverse outcome of the disease. Diagnosis of severe community-acquired pneumonia includes the following: collecting of epidemiological history, identification of pneumonia, detection of sepsis and identification of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, detection of acute respiratory failure, assessment of comorbidity. Authors gave recommendations concerning evaluation of the clinical manifestations of the disease, the use of instrumental and laboratory methods for diagnosis of severe community-acquired pneumonia. To select the mode of antimicrobial therapy is most important local monitoring antimicrobial resistance of pathogens. The main criteria for the effectiveness of treatment are to reduce body temperature, severe intoxication, respiratory and organ failure.

[Community-acquired pneumonia: Etiological diagnosis]. / Vnebol'nichno priobretennaya pnevmoniya: 'etiologicheskil diagnoz

Microbiological and immunoserological approaches were used in etiological diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia. It was concluded that Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Legionella pneumophila and Klebsiella pneumoniae predominated in the etiological structure of present severe community-acquired pneumonia. The most actual causative agents of nonsevere community-acquired pneumonia in persons under 60 were S. pneumoniae, Hemophilus influenzae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae. Nonsevere community-acquired pneumonia in persons over 60 and/ or at the background of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, diabetes mellitus or other affections was most frequently due to S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and aerobic gramnegative microbes.