Infectious Disease Alert – August 1, 2022
August 1, 2022
View Issues
-
COVID-19: Duration of Shedding of Transmissible Virus
Patients with COVID-19 were found, by culture, to shed replication-competent virus after an initial positive polymerase chain reaction test for median durations four to five days.
-
Paxlovid Rebound Concerns Are Overblown
A cohort of 483 high-risk patients was treated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir for COVID-19. Two of the patients (0.4%) required hospitalization by day 30, and four patients (0.8%) experienced a rebound of symptoms (generally mild) at median of nine days after treatment. All resolved without additional COVID-19-directed therapy.
-
COVID-19 Rebound
Symptomatic and virologic recrudescence after treatment of patients with COVID-19 with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) — Paxlovid rebound — occurs in a very small percentage of patients and generally is mild and self-limited.
-
12 Months of Itraconazole Is Superior to Six Months for Preventing Relapses of Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis
A randomized, controlled clinical trial from India found a significant reduction in relapses of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis in patients treated with itraconazole for 12 months compared to those treated for six months. There were more adverse events in the patients treated for 12 months.
-
Outbreaks of Infectious Enteritis in the United States: Norovirus Wins Again
More than 1 million people acquired enteric infections in the course of almost 40,000 outbreaks in the United States over the 11 years of this study.
-
Molecular Test Panel Use for Children with Possible Meningitis
In children thought to have meningitis, the use of a molecular test pathogen panel reduced the time to optimal antimicrobial use and reduced the duration of intravenous antibiotic use. However, there was no difference in the time to effective antimicrobial administration or the length of hospital stay between those with treatable pathogens who were and were not evaluated using molecular testing.
-
Infectious Disease Alert Updates
Remaining Questions in Syphilis Treatment; The Great Imitator Imitates Again