Infectious Disease Topics
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Antibiotic Use in Infancy Associated With Allergic Disease During Childhood
In a large population-based study, antibiotic use during the first six months of life was associated with a two-fold increase in asthma and a 1.5-fold increase in allergic disease during early childhood.
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Infectious Disease Alert Updates
House Mice as Vectors; Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables — or You Might Get TB!
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Another Reason to Get the Flu Shot Every Year
In a case-control study, among older adults, repeated vaccination for influenza was twice as effective in preventing severe influenza compared to non-severe influenza in patients who were admitted to the hospital.
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Fosfomycin or Nitrofurantoin for Cystitis?
A single dose of fosfomycin was found to be less effective than five days of thrice-daily dosing of nitrofurantoin in the treatment of symptomatic lower urinary tract infection in women.
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PANDAS: Examining the Evidence for Treatment Options
Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) is a proposed disorder first named in 1998 that has been the subject of controversy in the literature. Although the debate has waned somewhat in the United States, it remains a topic of discussion in many European medical journals. A recent systematic review found no evidence for antimicrobial or immunomodulatory treatment for this condition.
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Antibiotic Cycling Is Not Useful for Reducing Antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative Pathogens in Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Units
A randomized study that included eight intensive care units in Europe found no reduction in mortality or carriage of antibiotic-resistant gram-negative pathogens with antibiotic cycling compared to antibiotic mixing.
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Azithromycin Saves Lives in Africa
Approximately 200,000 preschool-aged children in communities in Malawi, Niger, and Tanzania were treated twice yearly with either azithromycin or placebo. Communities in which azithromycin was provided had 13.5% less all-cause mortality than did placebo-treated communities. In children 1 to 5 months of age, the mortality was 25% lower with azithromycin than with placebo.
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Infectious Disease Alert Updates
Probiotics and Lactobacillemia; The Last Poliovirus Challenge
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Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis Due to Candida
Prosthetic valve endocarditis due to Candida spp. is associated with high mortality, but is curable — or at least controllable.
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HANDOC: Some Guidance on When to Order Echocardiograms in Patients With Streptococcal Bacteremia
Non-β-hemolytic streptococci (NBHS) are the most common cause of infective endocarditis. In this retrospective study of 399 patients with NBHS bacteremia, 26 patients had endocarditis. HANDOC score (heart murmur, aetiology by specific species of NBHS, number of positive blood cultures, duration of symptoms, only one species in blood culture, and community-acquired infection) was predictive of endocarditis vs. non-endocarditis bacteremia.