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Antibiotic prescribing in telehealth can be appropriate with guidance, study finds

Telemedicine visits in Brazil performed under rigorous adherence to antibiotic stewardship guidelines were associated with appropriate antibiotic prescribing for patients with low-risk conditions, Brazilian and Australian researchers reported yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Global point-prevalence survey helps hospital stewardship, survey finds

Results from a worldwide survey of hospitals suggests that the Global Point Prevalence Survey of Antimicrobial Consumption and Resistance (Global-PPS) has helped inform stewardship activities, Belgian researchers reported this week in Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control.

ECMO patients appeared to have higher mortality as 2020 went on

Critically ill COVID-19 patients who received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) at the end of 2020 had a higher mortality rate than those who received it in the first half of the year, according to a study published yesterday in The Lancet.

Remdesivir linked to lower COVID-19 mortality

Hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were treated with remdesivir within 2 days of admission had lower mortality rates than their matched cohort, according to a study today in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The observational cohort consisted of US adults hospitalized with COVID-19 from August to November 2020; 28,855 received remdesivir and 16,887 did not.

New antimicrobials added to WHO essential medicines list

New antimicrobials to treat severe bacterial and fungal infections were among the drugs that the World Health Organization (WHO) included in its new Essential Medicines list, which is updated annually and serves as its recommended list of medicines that every health system should have.

Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans

New antimicrobials added to WHO essential medicines list

New antimicrobials to treat severe bacterial and fungal infections were among the drugs that the World Health Organization (WHO) included in its new Essential Medicines list, which is updated annually and serves as its recommended list of medicines that every health system should have.

Model predicts natural COVID-19 immunity wanes fast, re-infection likely

Reinfection from SARS-CoV-2 under endemic conditions will most likely occur at a median of 16 months, according to a modeling study published late last week in The Lancet Microbe.

FDA clears new rapid molecular test for antibiotic resistance genes

Diagnostics company OpGen announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market a new rapid molecular diagnostic tool that could aid in treating antibiotic-resistant or non-susceptible infections.

COVID variants of concern more virulent, study says

COVID-19 variants of concern (VOCs), especially the Delta (B1617.2) variant, are more virulent than the wild type, according to an Ontario-based study published in CMAJ yesterday. The cohort included 212,326 cases of non-VOCs (22.4%) and VOCs with the N501Y mutation (76.7%), such as Alpha (B117), Beta (B1351), Gamma (P1), and Delta.

US stewardship effort tied to lower antibiotics in ambulatory care during COVID

A national ambulatory antibiotic stewardship program was associated with declines in overall and acute respiratory infection (ARI)-related prescribing during the COVID-19 pandemic, US researchers reported last week at ID Week 2021.

HHS: COVID vaccine saved 39,000 Medicare beneficiaries' lives

A US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) analysis of Medicare data and county vaccination rates indicates that COVID-19 vaccinations administered from January until May 2021 were estimated to reduce COVID-19 infections by 265,000 and deaths by 39,000 among Medicare beneficiaries.

WHO recommends malaria vaccine for kids in high-risk areas

The World Health Organization (WHO) today recommended the RTS,S malaria vaccine for children in sub-Saharan Africa and other areas of moderate and high Plasmodium falciparum malaria transmission. The recommendation paves the way for global health groups to make funding and vaccine rollout plans and for countries to decide whether to include vaccination in their malaria control programs.

Estimate: 1 in 500 US children, 65% of them minorities, orphaned by COVID

More than 140,000 US children lost a parent or other caregiver from COVID-19 during the pandemic, representing one caregiver loss for every four coronavirus deaths, suggests a modeling study today in Pediatrics.

Narrow-spectrum antibiotics found safe, effective for moderate pneumonia

A clinical trial in the Netherlands found that an antimicrobial stewardship intervention safely reduced broad-spectrum antibiotic use in patients hospitalized with moderately severe pneumonia, Dutch researchers reported yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Risk factors tied to COVID symptoms 2 to 7 months after hospital release

Female sex, middle age, two or more chronic diseases, and more severe initial illness were predictive of difficulty recovering from COVID-19 6 months after release from a hospital, finds a multicenter UK study yesterday in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans

Narrow-spectrum antibiotics found safe, effective for moderate pneumonia

A clinical trial in the Netherlands found that an antimicrobial stewardship intervention safely reduced broad-spectrum antibiotic use in patients hospitalized with moderately severe pneumonia, Dutch researchers reported yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Stewardship rules, drug review tied to better antibiotic prescribing

Implementing a set of rules targeting antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) into a hospital-wide medication review service was associated with a dramatic decline in inappropriate antibiotic prescribing, Belgian researchers reported last week in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Mental disabilities, disorders linked to mortality risk during pandemic

People with mental disorders and intellectual disabilities had a greater mortality risk during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to a study published late last week in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe.

Mental health worsened amid pandemic, especially in women, young adults

An estimated 53.2 million additional cases of major depressive disorder and 76.2 million additional cases of anxiety disorders occurred during the pandemic, with women and young people most affected, according to a study published late last week in The Lancet.

Race, Medicaid status tied to higher COVID-19 rates in US nursing homes

Among 3,008 US nursing homes in counties in the top quartile of COVID-19 prevalence, those with larger proportions of racial minority residents, Medicaid participants, and fewer direct patient care hours experienced more coronavirus infections amid the pandemic, according to a research letter published yesterday in JAMA Network Open.

CDC report spotlights socioeconomic status in COVID vaccine coverage

COVID-19 vaccination coverage in less socioeconomically vulnerable US counties was 1.9 percentage points higher than that in the most susceptible counties in the first 2.5 months of vaccine rollout, a study yesterday in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) finds.

Australian study shows long-term benefits of ICU stewardship intervention

An audit of an electronic medical record–integrated antimicrobial stewardship intervention in an Australian intensive care unit (ICU) demonstrated long-term benefits and sustainability, Australian researchers reported today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

B117 variant COVID-19 strain has 67% increased death risk, study says

For every 3 people who would have died from the previous dominant strains of SARS-CoV-2, 5 will die if they are infected with the B117 variant of concern (VOC), according to a UK study yesterday in Eurosurveillance.

Culling completed at Wisconsin farm where CWD-positive deer found

Animal health officials in Wisconsin announced yesterday that they have completed depopulation of a white-tail deer herd at a Burnett County breeding farm where chronic wasting disease (CWD) was found in a buck in October 2020.

Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans

Groups urge Congress to boost funding for AMR, antibiotic development

A coalition of more than 50 organizations is calling on Congress to boost US investments in efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and develop new antibiotics.