Conclusions:  Decreased activity of daily living is a strong risk factor for liver injury among adult inpatients with newly diagnosed smear‐positive lung tuberculosis treated using a standard regimen.© 2012 The Authors. Respirology © 2012 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (Source: Respirology)

Capturing the host response using genomic technologies such as transctiptional profiling provides a new paradigm for classifying and diagnosis of infectious disease and for potentially distinguishing infection from other causes of serious respiratory illness. This strategy has been used to define a blood based RNA signature as a classifier for pandemic H1N1 influenza infection that is distinct from bacterial pneumonia and other inflammatory causes of respiratory disease. To realilze the full potential of this approach as a diagnostic will require additional independent validation of the results and studies to examine the specificity of this signature for viral versus bacterial infection or co-infection. (Source: Critical Care)

Source: Cochrane Library Area: Evidence > Drug Specific Reviews Background Sore throat is a common condition associated with a high rate of antibiotic prescriptions, despite limited evidence for the effectiveness of antibiotics. Corticosteroids may improve symptoms of sore throat by reducing inflammation of the upper respiratory tract.     Objectives To assess the clinical benefit and safety of corticosteroids for symptoms of sore throat in adults and children.     Search methods We searched The Cochrane Library, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL 2012, Issue 5) which includes the Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) Group's Specialised Register, the Database of Reviews of Effects and the NHS Health Economics Database, MED...

Abstract Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the most important respiratory infection and the leading cause of death from infectious disease around the world. Mortality from pneumonia has not varied over the past decades despite the use of antimicrobial agents (1). Strategies targeted to modulate the immune response seem to be a feasible and promising alternative to antimicrobials for patients with pneumonia © 2012 The Authors. Respirology © 2012 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (Source: Respirology)