Articles Tagged With:
-
Respiratory Triple Play: Vaccination Is the Key
As a trifecta of viruses converge this fall and winter, the United States has an unprecedented infection control counterpunch: vaccines for the 2023-2024 flu season, new shots for respiratory syncytial virus, and the latest formula to protect against COVID-19.
-
APIC: SCOTUS Race Ruling: ‘Willfully Ignores’ Challenges Minorities Still Face
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that race cannot be a factor in college, medical, and nursing school admissions was, if nothing else, tone-deaf. The ruling came in the simmering aftermath of a three-year pandemic that exposed widespread inequity in healthcare, and gave rise to the perception of “institutionalized racism” in medicine.
-
Infectious Disease Alert Updates
Infectious Disease Approval to Reduce Hospital Clostridioides difficile Cases; Oral Amoxicillin for Syphilis
-
Use of Ceftobiprole for Complicated Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia
In a randomized, controlled trial conducted by Holland and colleagues, no significant difference in overall treatment success of complicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia was observed in patients who received ceftobiprole as compared with patients who received daptomycin.
-
New International Guidelines on Prolonged Infusion Beta-Lactams
The largest randomized clinical trial of prolonged vs. intermittent beta-lactam antibiotic (meropenem) infusion in septic intensive care unit patients found no benefit in mortality or emergence of antibiotic resistance. Unfortunately, this trial has numerous flaws that ultimately limit its generalizability.
-
First-Choice Antibiotic for Acute Bacterial Sinusitis in Children
Review of a large database reveals that, for children treated for acute sinusitis, amoxicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanate yield similar rates of treatment failure. However, medication side effects are more common when amoxicillin-clavulanate is used.
-
Antibiotic Stewardship vs. Diagnostic Stewardship for Reducing Unnecessary Antibiotics in Asymptomatic Bacteriuria
A statewide quality study compared antibiotic stewardship to diagnostic stewardship for hospitalized patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria. It found that reducing urine cultures decreased unnecessary antibiotic prescribing better than antibiotic stewardship.
-
Navigating Antimicrobial Resistance
As more patients request antibiotics for managing many types of illnesses, it is no surprise that antimicrobial resistance is on the rise. According to the CDC, 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur every year in the United States, with 35,000 deaths.
-
Caring for COPD Patients During Winter
Navigating the care of patients who are living with chronic conditions already is challenging, but it takes an extra layer of thoughtfulness for a case manager to also consider the climate and season when making plans and facilitating decisions for patients with COPD.
-
Pharmacists Can Help Improve Diabetes Outcomes in the Community
Some health systems are trying to integrate pharmacists in primary care units in hopes of improving outcomes for patients with chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension. One model is to assign four or five primary care providers per pharmacist and create a co-visit model that integrates pharmacists in care involving medication management.