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The following is a summary of selected abstracts on fungal diseases from 3 meetings. The 43rd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) met in Chicago September 14-17, 2003. The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) met in San Diego October 9-12, 2003. The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene met in Philadelphia December 3-7, 2003.
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Receipt of vancomycin antedated isolation of MRSA with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin in 25 patients. Fortunately, there are several alternatives to vancomycin for many of these isolates. There are, in addition, a large number of antibiotics in the pipeline with activity against Gram-positive organisms.
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A formulary switch from levofloxacin to gatifloxacin as the preferred quinolone in a long-term care facility was associated with a significant increase in the incidence of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD). A case-control study showed that duration of gatifloxacin was independently associated with illness. Switching back to levofloxacin was followed by a decrease in incidence of CDAD to prior levels.
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An antibiotic preparation meant for addition to animal feed was found to be contaminated with antibiotic resistance genes. Fortunately, the genes being used generally encode for resistance mechanisms that are already highly prevalent in gastrointestinal bacteria.
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A total of 6.2% of hospital employees were nasal carriers of MRSA, with the rate highest among workers in long-term care (36%). In 4 of 10 families surveyed, family members were colonized by the same MRSA as the employee.
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New tool evaluates care options for seniors; JCAHO modifies patient safety goals
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Attorneys general should play a role in advising state agencies and educating others about how laws and policies related to end-of-life care should be enforced, especially if they seem to be at odds with patient rights. The most salient example of this conflict has been the ongoing battle between end-of-life care advocates and law enforcement agencies.
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In teaching health care providers how to care for patients at the end of life, many institutions forget to teach the providers that they need to care for themselves as well.
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This second of a two-part article looking at the challenges faced by home health managers describes demonstration projects included in HR 1 that affect the home health industry.
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When analyzed using 3-dimensional methods, virtual colonoscopy achieves comparable accuracy in screening asymptomatic adults for colonic polyps as optical colonoscopy.
