Respiratory tract infection

Author: Ji Xia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: Significant progress has been made in various aspects of epidemiology and biology related to special respiratory pathogens. For example, pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae, and certain Gram-negative enteric bacteria have developed resistance to commonly used antimicrobial drugs, which has inadvertently increased the difficulty of treating diseases caused by these pathogens. New pathogens, such as the newly identified Hantavirus, along with new epidemiological detection techniques, have helped clarify whether the disease is community-acquired pneumonia or hospital-acquired pneumonia. At the same time, as the complexity of respiratory infections continues to increase, techniques for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention have also expanded accordingly. Molecular biology has provided new methods for our diagnosis and treatment, while new antimicrobial drugs and antifungal drugs have become powerful tools for treating pulmonary infections. The development of vaccines for common infections has also made encouraging progress. With the publication of this book, these rapidly evolving fields have been enriched with new content. We adhere to discussing respiratory infections from a clinical perspective and further understanding the treatment of infections based on scientific evidence. Therefore, the initial chapters of this book focus on basic science, which helps us understand common infection issues, followed by chapters on clinical management of infectious lung diseases. Unlike other similar books, this one focuses on the clinical treatment of respiratory infections in special high-risk populations (rather than being organism-oriented), as we firmly believe that when suspecting special microbial infections in the lungs, the clinical presentation and epidemiological data of the patient must be considered. However, this clinical research approach must be supported by a solid foundation in basic science, especially in respiratory immunology and new insights into the natural susceptibility of bacteria to antibiotics.