November, 2017: Community Acquired Pneumonia Etiology Review in Clinical Infectious Diseases Reinforces Need for Host-Based Approach

The recent review article, “Evolving Understanding of the Causes of Pneumonia in Adults, With Special Attention to the Role of Pneumococcus” in the November 15, 2017 Clinical Infectious Diseases, addresses the trends and current status of the etiology of Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP). These data support the need for a pathogen-agnostic/host-based approach to the disease, such as BioAegis’ plasma gelsolin program. Three of the most recent studies, including the CDC’s EPIC Study published in July 2015 New England Journal of Medicine, underscore the failure to identify a causative pathogen in greater than 50% of the cases. Streptococcus pneumoniae remains the most commonly identified pathogen, although it is demonstrated in <20% of cases. Numerous other gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria are less frequently recovered. Viruses are found in 25% of the patients, either alone or as a coinfection. These findings have implications for antibiotic stewardship and strongly reinforce the need for a host-based approach to this disease as a whole.