Carlos Grijalva

Image of pain pills (iStock Photo)

Study links opioids, infection risk for patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Use of opioid analgesics is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for serious infections among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to a Vanderbilt study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

flu shot

Flu vaccine helps reduce hospitalizations due to influenza pneumonia: study

More than half of hospitalizations due to influenza pneumonia could be prevented by influenza vaccination, according to a study led by investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Vanderbilt-led multi-center study looks at antibiotic choice for treating childhood pneumonia

New Vanderbilt-led research shows hospitals are doing a better job of using antibiotics less commonly associated with antibiotic resistance to treat children hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Flu boosts pneumococcal colonization

Influenza and parainfluenza infections – but not other respiratory viruses – increase the risk of acquiring pneumococcal bacteria, the most common cause of severe pneumonia.

sick child

Penicillin equally effective as ‘big gun’ antibiotics for treating less severe childhood pneumonia, Vanderbilt study shows

Children hospitalized for pneumonia have similar outcomes, including length of stay and costs, regardless of whether they are treated with “big gun” antibiotics such as ceftriaxone or cefotaxime or more narrowly focused antibiotics such as ampicillin or penicillin.

Infant vaccine for pneumonia helps protect elderly

Children who receive a vaccine to prevent blood and ear infections may be reducing the spread of pneumonia to the rest of the population, especially their grandparents and other older adults.

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