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Book

Streptococcus pneumoniae

Christopher F. Dion  1 , John V. Ashurst  2
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
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Free Books & Documents
Book

Streptococcus pneumoniae

Christopher F. Dion et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, and the cost of these hospitalizations is estimated to cost up to $9 billion in the United States (US) dollars each year. Thirty-day hospital mortality associated with CAP has been estimated to be as high as 22% and is the leading cause of death amongst all infectious diseases.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the bacterium that has historically been the most common pathogen to cause CAP worldwide. In the era before antibiotics, S. pneumoniae was estimated to be the cause of 95% of all cases of pneumonia. Currently, however, S. pneumoniae accounts for up to 15% of pneumonia cases in the United States and 27% of cases worldwide today. Blood cultures are positive in only 20% to 25% of all pneumonia cases that are caused by S. pneumonia making it a challenging diagnosis for the clinician.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Christopher Dion declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: John Ashurst declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

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