Infectious Disease
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Sepsis Management: What We Think We Know
In the Protocolized Resuscitation in Sepsis Meta-Analysis (PRISM), 3,723 patients’ outcomes from the ProCESS, ARISE, and ProMISe randomized, controlled trials of early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) were evaluated. EGDT did not result in better outcomes than usual care and was associated with higher costs. The authors of a second study looked at outcomes of 49,331 patients with sepsis treated in New York from April 2014 to June 2016. More rapid completion of the three-hour sepsis bundle and antibiotic administration (but not rapid bolus administration of IV fluids) was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality.
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Bug Bytes From Barcelona: Report of the 15th Conference of the International Society of Travel Medicine
In addition to issues of malaria, vaccination, and trauma in travelers, viral diseases and the management of diarrhea were key topics at the biannual meeting of the International Society of Travel Medicine in Barcelona, Spain, during May 2017.
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Not Just Ebola — Lassa Fever Rears its Ugly Head Once Again
Outbreaks of Lassa fever are occurring in Nigeria and several other West African nations, some of which also are endemic for Ebola virus infections.
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Dual Antibiotic Therapy Is Not Routinely Necessary for Uncomplicated Cellulitis
A randomized, multicenter, placebo-controlled clinical trial that enrolled patients presenting to emergency departments with uncomplicated cellulitis found the addition of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole to cephalexin did not lead to better outcomes.
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HCV: Is It Better to Test and Treat Than Try PEP?
Despite – or perhaps because of -- the incredible cure rates being achieved by new drugs for hepatitis C virus, experts say post-exposure prophylaxsis for exposed healthcare workers is not the path to pursue. Given a host of undermining variables, it is better to repeatedly test a worker who suffers a needlestick, ready to treat as soon as a seroconversion occurs, experts concur.
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For Everything There Is a Season – Including SSIs?
While it is way too early to advise patients to have elective surgery in the dead of winter, researchers are unraveling some telling indications that surgical site infections are much more likely to occur in the hottest months of the year.
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The Joint Commission Citing for Sterilization
Hospitals are continuing to run afoul of The Joint Commission accreditation inspectors for equipment that has been improperly sterilized or subjected to insufficient high-level disinfection.
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Think Outside of the [Recessed] Box
A common feature in hemodialysis units – recessed wall boxes to hook up water and other lines – can become a reservoir for pathogens if not subjected to routine cleaning and infection control measures, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigator reports.
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Are You Ready for Next Infectious Disease Event?
IPs and hospital epidemiologists who are not well-positioned within their organization and connected to key collaborators during routine operations will be severely challenged when an infectious disease emergency strikes, warns Stephen Weber, MD, an epidemiologist and chief medical officer at the University of Chicago.
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Heart of Darkness: Ebola Vaccine in Congo
While the world holds its breath, there are signs an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may be fading back. However, given the devastation and some 11,000 deaths caused by the 2014 outbreak in West Africa, the last thing the World Health Organization is going to do is take this deadly hemorrhagic fever lightly.