Severe community-acquired pneumonia due to in the Newcastle area.

BACKGROUND

An apparent increase in the incidence of severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by (group A Streptococcus - GAS) was observed during 2017 in the Newcastle area. The study was undertaken to establish whether there was a true increase in severe pneumonia and to explore its epidemiology and clinical features.

METHODS

The study was a retrospective descriptive study of pneumonia set in two tertiary referral hospitals in Newcastle, a large regional city, during the period 2007 to 2018. Subjects were adults identified as having pneumonia by searching a database of severe CAP (defined as requiring intensive care unit [ICU] admission) for the period 2007-2018. Laboratory records were also searched for sterile site isolates of to identify patients not requiring ICU admission.

RESULTS

There were 13 cases of CAP identified during the study period, of whom 12 (92%) required ICU admission. accounted for 12/728 (1.6%) cases of severe CAP during the study period. The severity of pneumonia was high despite a mean patient age of 48 years and 7/13 (54%) having no significant past medical history. The mortality rate was 2/13 (15%). Viral co-infection was found in 6/12 (50%) of patients tested. Overall 7/12 (58%) of the patients with severe CAP during the study period presented in the winter or spring of 2017.

CONCLUSIONS

is a rare cause of severe CAP in the Newcastle area, but there was a marked increase in frequency observed during the 2017 influenza season. Further study of the epidemiology of invasive GAS (iGAS) disease in Newcastle is warranted to identify emerging trends in this severe infection.