Is It Really Pneumonia? Study Casts Doubt on Hospital Diagnoses

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• August 6, 2024
• Full Page

Hospitals could be frequently misdiagnosing pneumonia, causing patients to receive the wrong treatments and potentially become deathly ill, a new study fi...

Robust Gut Microbiome Can Help You Fight Infections

• Carole Tanzer Miller HealthDay Reporter
• June 21, 2024
• Full Page

The bacteria colonizing your bowels play a key part in your risk for infection, new research shows.

A study of more than 600 people hospitalized with infections found their microbiomes had fewer bacteria that were able to produce a beneficial fatty acid called butyrate.&...

Seniors, Stay Away From Young Kids to Avoid Pneumonia: Study

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• April 4, 2024
• Full Page

Sticky fingers, runny noses: Little kids are sweet, but they can also pass on dangerous germs to loving grandparents, new research confirms.

The study found that contact with pre-school and kindergarten-aged kids may be the leading transmission route for bacteria that ca...

Your Toothbrush Could Be a Life Saver in the Hospital

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 19, 2023
• Full Page

A person's toothbrush could be a true lifesaver if they land in a hospital ICU, according to new evidence review.

Regular toothbrushing is associated with lower rates of death in the intensive care unit (ICU), shorter lengths of stay, and shorter times spent on a mechani...

Simple Antibiotic Switch for Pneumonia Patients Could Prevent Hospital Infection

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• November 2, 2023
• Full Page

A new study on Clostridioides difficile infections finds that choosing an alternative antibiotic for high-risk patients with pneumonia can reduce infection risk.

C. diff infections can be deadly, and they are often acquired by hospitalized patients taki...

Olympian Mary Lou Retton Suffers Setback in Battle With Rare Form of Pneumonia

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• October 19, 2023
• Full Page

Former Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton has suffered a "scary setback" as she fights a rare type of pneumonia while in the intensive care unit of a hospital, her family said Wednesday.

The 55-year-old, who lives in the Houston area, had been "going on the up and up" earli...

Olympic Legend Mary Lou Retton Battling Rare Form of Pneumonia

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• October 11, 2023
• Full Page

Olympic icon Mary Lou Retton -- the first American woman to win the all-around gold medal in women's gymnastics -- is in intensive care with a rare type of pneumonia and "not able to breathe on her own,"her daughter said on Instagram.

She is "fighting for her life,"McKe...

Vaccines Against Shingles, Pneumonia May Also Lower Your Alzheimer's Risk

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• August 21, 2023
• Full Page

Certain adult vaccines, including shingles and pneumonia shots, may also help seniors fight off Alzheimer's disease, new research reveals.

Prior vaccination with the shingles vaccine, pneumococcus vaccine or the tetanus and diphtheria shot, with or without an added ...

Could Dentures Raise Your Odds for Pneumonia?

• Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
• June 26, 2023
• Full Page

Dentures may hide harmful germs that cause pneumonia, British researchers report.

For the study, the investigators took samples from the dentures of nursing home patients who did and didn't have pneumonia. They analyzed the samples to identify the types of microbes pres...

Can Patients With Pneumonia Be Weaned Off IV Antibiotics Earlier?

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• April 25, 2023
• Full Page

Patients hospitalized with pneumonia typically stay on IV antibiotics until they're stable, after about three days, but a new study suggests a different option.

Researchers report that more patients who have community-acquired pneumonia could switch sooner to oral antibi...

Two Vaccines May Soon Shield Seniors Against RSV

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• February 16, 2023
• Full Page

Older people have vaccines available to prevent severe influenza and COVID-19, but there's been nothing to protect against the third respiratory virus that contributed to this season's wretched "triple-demic."

Until now.

Two major pharmaceutical companies published...

Getting COVID in Pregnancy Greatly Raises a Woman's Odds for Death

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• January 17, 2023
• Full Page

COVID-19 infection in pregnancy raises a woman's risk of death sevenfold and significantly elevates her odds for needing intensive care, a new study finds.

Getting the virus during pregnancy also ups the likelihood of pneumonia, according to researchers at George Washing...

CDC Warns of Possible Severe Flu Season Ahead

• Denise Mann HealthDay Reporter
• October 5, 2022
• Full Page

Australia is experiencing its worst flu season in five years, and that doesn't bode well for the United States, federal health officials warned Tuesday.

America's flu season often mirrors what u...

Long COVID May Bring Long-Term Lung Damage

• March 15, 2022
• Full Page

Even after a mild case of COVID, some people suffer breathing problems that last for months. Now, a new study suggests many of them may have abnormalities in the small airways of their lungs.

Researchers found that of 100 patients with "