Is it Possible to Create a Universal Cure for Pneumonia?

Abstract

Antibiotics alone remain today the guiding principle of the treatment of many inflammatory diseases including Acute Pneumonia (AP). If this principle of treatment has produced the expected results, the discussion of this topic would not be required. Therefore, the published results show not only the negative dynamics of development of purulent complications of the AP, but also the lack of promising strategies to address this problem [1-4]. Pediatric pleural empyema has increased substantially over the past 20 years and reasons for this rise remain not fully explained [5]. In developed (!) countries from 9.5% to 42% of patients with pneumonia are received in the hospital due to the ineffectiveness of primary treatment [6]. However, the transfer of patients to hospital does not improve the results of treatment. Parapneumonic effusions or empyema affect 2% to 12% of children with pneumonia, and up to 28% of those requiring hospitalization [7].