Maresme Area Research Group for acquired pneumonias in the community

The GEMPAC (Maresme Research Group for Community Acquired Pneumonia) is a consolidated group recognized by the Agency for University Grants of the Generalitat of Catalunya (AGAUR). It is physically located at the Maresme Health Consortium, which covers primary health care in the Maresme region and is centred in the Mataró Hospital and has a collaborative agreeement with the IGTP for research activities.  The group has been led by Dr Jordi Almirall for more than 25 years and carries out epidemiological studies for lower tract respiratory infections; these studies are coordinated by the Mataró Hospital.   The group has made important contributions in the areas of incidence, microbiology, prognostic risk factors, costing, diagnostic errors and the value of inflammatory markers for the prediction of pneumonia and aetiological orientation. 

The group has be awarded eight FIS grants in which different specialists have participated as principal investigator including family doctors, hospital specialists and house doctors, both from Mataró and other hospitals, nursing staff have also taken part.  Since 2006 the group has formed part of the CIBERES network within the Group 14 led by Dr Antoni Torres from the Clinic Hospital Barcelona and Barcelona University for research into aetiology, prognostic risk factors associated with community acquired lower tract respiratory infections (LRTI).

GEMPAC researchers have also participated in as partners in European projects such as GRACE (Genomics to combat Resistance against Antibiotics in Community acquired LRTI in Europe) of the Sixth framework programme priority.  Since 2012 they have participated in the European Network COMBACTE CLIN-Net and LAB net (Innovative Initiatives in Medicine) to carry out clinical trials with new antibiotics with the coordinators Dr. H. Goossens (Antwerp) i Dr. Harbarth (Geneva).  They are also currently part of the PREPARE project (Work Packages 3 and 5) (www.prepare-europe.eu/).

The group also has eight contracts with pharmaceutical companies to carry out clinical trials.   The group has generated seven doctoral theses in recent years with another three currently in progress and has 40 international publications and 30 more in Spanish journals with a total impact factor of 204.