Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Editorial
. 2017 Oct 5:9:15.
doi: 10.1186/s41479-017-0039-9. eCollection 2017.

Community-acquired pneumonia in the United Kingdom: a call to action

James Chalmers  1   2 , James Campling  3 , Gillian Ellsbury  3 , Peter M Hawkey  4 , Harish Madhava  3 , Mary Slack  5
Affiliations
Editorial

Community-acquired pneumonia in the United Kingdom: a call to action

James Chalmers et al. Pneumonia (Nathan). .

Abstract

Pneumococcal disease has a high burden in adults in the United Kingdom (UK); however, the total burden is underestimated, principally because most cases of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are non-invasive. Research into pneumonia receives poor funding relative to its disease burden (global mortality, disability-adjusted life years, and years lived with disability), ranking just 20 out of 25 for investment in infectious diseases in the UK. The current accuracy of data for establishing incidence rates is questionable, and it is a reflection of the paucity of research that much of the background information available derives from nearly 30 years ago. Given the relationship between CAP and mortality (pneumonia accounts for 29,000 deaths per annum in the UK, and 5-15% of patients hospitalised with CAP die within 30 days of admission), and the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance associated with inappropriate antibiotic prescribing, such neglect of a highly prevalent problem is concerning. In this Call to Action, we explore the poorly understood burden of CAP in the UK, discuss the importance of an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment, and suggest how national collaboration could improve the management of an often life-threatening, yet potentially preventable disease.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Clostridium Difficile; Community-acquired pneumonia; Immunization; Pneumococcal disease; Pneumonia burden; Pneumonia diagnostics; Pneumonia epidemiology; Streptococcus Pneumoniae.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

Dr. James Chalmers has received research grant support from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Boehringer-Ingelheim and Bayer Healthcare and has participated in advisory boards or lectures for Griffols, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Napp, Boehringer-Ingelheim and Bayer Healthcare.

Prof. Peter Hawkey has received support from Pfizer to present at educational meetings and to attend advisory board meetings, as well as research funding and/or speaker support from: AstraZeneca, Beckton Dickinson, Eumedica; MSD, Novartis, Novacta, Roche, Department of Health UK, NIHR, and PHE. He is also Director of Modus Medica, a medical education/consultancy.

Prof. Mary Slack has received personal fees from GSK, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sanofi Pasteur as a speaker at international meetings and as a member of advisory boards (outside the scope of the submitted work). She has also worked as a contractor for Pfizer.

James Campling, Gillian Ellsbury and Harish Madhava are full-time employees of Pfizer; no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Incidence rates of CAP around the world. *Age group 65–74 years only. CAP, community-acquired pneumonia; CAP IC, community-acquired pneumonia in children; HCAP, healthcare-acquired pneumonia
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Simplified schematic of the UK care pathway for adult patients with CAP accessing healthcare, and estimated capture of incidence rates. A&E, accident and emergency; CAP, community-acquired pneumonia; CXR, chest X-ray; GP, general practitioner; HES, hospital episode statistics; ICU, intensive care unit; NICE, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Waight WA, Andrews NJ, Ladhani SN, Sheppard CL, Slack MPE, Miller E. Effect of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on invasive pneumococcal disease in England and Wales 4 years after its introduction: an observational cohort study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2015;15:535–543. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(15)70044-7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chalmers JD, Campling J, Dicker A, Woodhead W, Madhava H, et al. A systematic review of the burden of vaccine preventable pneumococcal disease in UK adults. BMC Pulm Med. 2016;16:77. doi: 10.1186/s12890-016-0242-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. British Lung Foundation. The battle for breath – the impact of lung disease in the UK. 2016. Available from: https://www.blf.org.uk/what-we-do/our-research/the-battle-for-breath-2016. Accessed Apr 2017.
    1. Bruns AH, Oosterheert JJ, Cucciolillo MC, El Moussaoui R, Groenwold RH, Prins JM, et al. Cause-specific long-term mortality rates in patients recovered from community-acquired pneumonia as compared with the general Dutch population. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2011;17:763–768. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2010.03296.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Townsend N, Wilson L, Bhatnagar P, Wickramasinghe W, Rayner M, Nichols M. Cardiovascular disease in Europe: epidemiological update 2016. Eur Heart J. 2016;0:1–14. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources