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Pneumonia

Description

An in-depth report on the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of pneumonia.

Highlights

Drug Warnings:

Ketek. In January 2006, the FDA issued a Public Health Advisory for health care providers and patients using telithromycin (Ketek). Patients treated with the antibiotic Ketek should stop using the drug if yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes (a condition called jaundice) develops. There have been reports that four patients treated with Ketek had severe liver injury. One of the patients died, and one needed a liver transplant. In June 2006, the FDA reported four people had died after taking the drug. In December 2006, the FDA recommended that Ketek should not be used in patients with sinusitis or bronchitis. The FDA has ordered the manufacturer to add a warning to the drug's label about potential liver problems. Ketek, the first in a new class of antibiotics, is used to treat respiratory infections in adults.

Tequin . In February 2006, Bristol-Myers Squibb said that diabetics should not use the antibiotic Tequin (gatifloxacin) because of reports of serious changes in blood sugar levels in vulnerable people. The company is changing the product's prescription information.

Avian (Bird) Flu:

A strain of bird flu known as H5N1 is spreading in poultry around the globe. The virus has infected a small number of people. The human death rate is high. International health authorities are closely monitoring the situation, for fear this strain will become the next influenza pandemic (global epidemic).

Influenza (Flu) Prevention:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a Heath Alert regarding the use of M2 inhibitors (amantadine and rimantadine) for the prevention or treatment of flu. Due to significant increase in Influenza A resistance to this class of antiviral medication, the CDC recommended against its use for the end of the 2005-2006 flu season.

• Review Date: 3/28/2006
• Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital

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