Infectious Disease Alert – October 1, 2014
October 1, 2014
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Abstract & Commentary Importance of Culture for Group A Strep Pharyngitis after a Negative Rapid Test
Pharyngitis is a very common infection resulting in more than 6 million annual office visits by adults in the United States. The ability to distinguish pharyngitis caused by group A streptococci (GAS) from other etiologies (e.g. viruses) is important because untreated GAS can have serious consequences including peritonsillar abscess and rheumatic fever. -
Treatment of MDR Bedaqualine Appears to be a Major Advance in Treatment of MDR-TB
Bedaquiline (a unique diarylquinoline) was studied vs. placebo in a prospective randomized trial when added to a standard 5-drug regimen in the treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis. Treatment with bedaquiline when added to a preferred background for 24 weeks resulted in significantly more and faster culture conversion than placebo. -
Enterovirus 68 Rumors, Realities, Research
A preliminary report from Missouri suggests that enterovirus 68 is responsible for a large outbreak of respiratory disease in children. Typically, there is a rapid onset of respiratory symptoms with wheezing, and intensive care is required for about 15% of affected patients. -
ID Grand Rounds-Stanford University: Woman with Neutropenic fever, Ab Pain
A 44-year old woman with a history of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) who recently completed a third-cycle of consolidation chemotherapy with idarubicin and cytarabine presented with fever and abdominal pain. -
Infected American Doc knew He Faced a ‘Tsunami’ of Ebola in Liberia, Kept Working
The healthcare system in Liberia has had to go through a complete reboot after every single hospital in the city of Monrovia closed down to be decontaminated with bleach water as a result of Ebola cases landing in emergency rooms, outpatient clinics and medical wards -
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