Infectious Disease Topics
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Pneumococcus, Sickle Cell Disease, Vaccination, and Penicillin
Even in the era of newborn screening, pneumococcal vaccination, and penicillin prophylaxis, children with sickle cell disease continue to be at risk of morbidity and mortality from invasive pneumococcal disease, mostly from non-vaccine serotypes.
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Letermovir Prophylaxis Is Effective in Preventing Cytomegalovirus Infection After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
A Phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled superiority trial that included patients 18 years of age or older undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation found that prophylaxis with letermovir resulted in significantly lower risk for cytomegalovirus infection in the first 24 weeks than placebo. Safety and adverse events were similar between letermovir and placebo.
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Adverse Reactions to Antibiotics in Patients Receiving Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy
Approximately one-fifth of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy recipients developed a clinically significant antimicrobial-related adverse drug event.
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Infectious Disease Alert Updates
The Origins of Smallpox Vaccine Virus; No More Fun Helping Mommy Bake; Annual Influenza Vaccination of Physicians
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Zoster Vaccine Recombinant Adjuvanted (Shingrix)
The FDA has approved a second zoster vaccine for the prevention of shingles in adults.
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Prevention of Clostridium difficile Recurrence by Orally Administered Fecal Microbiota Transplantation
Fecal microbiota transplantation orally administered in capsules was non-inferior to administration by colonoscopy.
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Unexpected Benefit of Pneumococcal Vaccine in Decreasing the Burden of Otitis Media
Surveillance data collected prospectively in Israel reveal a decline in progression from pneumococcal carriage to complex otitis media in both vaccine-targeted and non-vaccine serotypes following implementation of routine use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. Vaccinating against pneumococcal serotypes causing early-life infections may reduce the risk of subsequently developing complex otitis media due to other organisms.
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Follow-up Blood Cultures in Gram-negative Bacteremia — Don’t Order Them
In contrast to blood cultures obtained on therapy in patients with Gram-positive bacteremia and endocarditis, follow-up blood cultures in patients with Gram-negative bacteremia seldom provide useful information.
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Spinal Epidural Abscess
Non-operative management of spinal epidural abscess is safe and effective in selected patients.
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Self-administered Weekly Therapy for Latent Tuberculosis Is Non-inferior to Directly Observed Therapy in the United States
A randomized clinical trial conducted in the United States and three other countries compared self-administered isoniazid and rifapentine with and without weekly reminders to directly observed therapy (DOT). Self-administered therapy without reminders was non-inferior to DOT in the United States; no other comparisons met non-inferiority criteria.