Pneumonia, PIONEER-HF, malignant pleural effusion

Chest Infections

Pneumonia: It is NOW time to act!

The upper part of the globe is going through another winter season and this brings large numbers of patients visiting emergency departments and requiring admission to the hospital due to pneumonia and influenza. It is concerning to see that despite our knowledge that these events will occur during this season every year, there are no significant improvements in place compared to the prior year. But the most concerning aspect of all is lack of perception that pneumonia and influenza remain among the most important diseases resulting in morbidity and mortality to both children and adults (GBD 2016 Lower Respiratory Infections Collaborators. Lancet Infect Dis 2018; S1473-3099[18]30310).

Every year we read, listen or watch the alarming news regarding the increasing number of cases of influenza and pneumonia, the number of deaths, the lack of vaccine protection, the concerns about human-to-human transmission, the development of resistance, and the lack of resources to deal with this problem. We wonder why we tolerate this difficult situation over and over again? What can we do as a society to help fight this problem? What else needs to happen so we take this issue seriously? Why can we not improve the care of patients who suffer from pneumonia? We as part of the Chest Infections NetWork would like to raise the awareness of the pneumonia and influenza problem and unite with our communities to address this calamity once and for all! A recent editorial proposes a series of strategic solutions to address this situation that include increasing the overall resources, more funding for research, and the development of advocacy groups and education programs (Aliberti S, et al. Lancet Respir Med. 2018;S2213-2600(18):30470).

Marcos I. Restrepo, MD, MSc, PhD.
Steering Committee Vice-Chair