Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans
A clinician-directed intervention implemented at facilities in the Veterans' Healthcare Administration (VHA) was associated with better management of, and reduced antibiotic prescribing for, acute respiratory infections (ARIs), researchers reported today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
Following the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization (EUA) of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine last month for the primary vaccine series, the company announced today that it has applied for an EUA for the vaccine to also be used as a booster in adults ages 18 and older.
Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) and Accelerate Diagnostics yesterday announced a commercial collaboration agreement to bring rapid identification and antibiotic susceptibility tests to more clinicians and patients worldwide.
A study of more than 2,900 healthcare workers (HCWs) shows that those who wore a respirator were more than 40% less likely to be infected with COVID-19 than those wearing a surgical mask.
Prescribing data from a children's hospital network in Chicago showed considerable variation in antibiotic durations for children treated for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and urinary tract infections (UTIs) in ambulatory settings, with the variability largely unrelated to the severity of symptoms, researchers reported late last week in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.
Using a test-to-stay (TTS) strategy in K-12 schools during the winter of 2021-22 resulted in substantial reduction in missed school days, according to a study yesterday in Pediatrics.
A new study offers a complex picture of COVID-19 incidence among the US homeless population and illustrates the difficulty of tracking disease spread among this population. The study was published today in JAMA Network Open and found the incidence of the disease lower than among the general population.
A study of California public transportation workers published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) shows public transportation workers have higher rates of both COVID-19 incidence and mortality compared to other industries.
A study of hospitalized pneumonia patients in Denmark found similar outcomes between short-course and prolonged-course antibiotic therapy, Danish researchers reported yesterday in Clinical Microbiology and Infection.
Nonhospitalized, high-risk, vaccinated COVID-19 patients who received nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (NMV-r, or Paxlovid) saw a 45% drop in their relative risk of emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalization, and death by 30 days, suggests a study published late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
A study of electronic health record (EHR) data from a US hospital network found that more than a third of antibiotic prescriptions for uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTIs) were inappropriate or suboptimal, researchers reported late last week in Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the most commonly used class of antidepressants in the United States, don't appear to prevent severe COVID-19 or death among outpatients, according to a study presented this week at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in Chicago.
A clinical trial conducted in seven countries found that two shortened, bedaquiline-containing regimens had superior efficacy in treating rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (TB) compared with a 9-month injectable-containing regimen, with fewer cases of hearing loss, investigators reported today in The Lancet.
A study of US patients aged 0 to 20 years hospitalized for COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in 2020 and 2021 shows that 22% had a neurologic condition, including 9% with life-threatening illness.
An observational study published this week in eClinicalMedicine suggests that COVID-19–related acute kidney injury (AKI) is tied to a greater risk of death, and that severe AKI may lead to poor recovery of kidney function.
At a World Health Organization (WHO) briefing today, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said Uganda's government is making progress in its battle against Ebola, but he raised concerns about case detections outside the main hot spots.
JAMA Network Open published a new study yesterday showing higher cord blood COVID-19 antibodies in women who were vaccinated compared with those who were infected with COVID-19, suggesting vaccination produces more than 10-fold higher antibody concentrations in unborn babies compared to natural infections.
A study of more than 3 million patients with bacterial and viral respiratory infections found that inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions were associated with increased risk of adverse events and higher healthcare costs, researchers reported today in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Repeat SARS-CoV-2 infections confer significant additional risk of adverse multi-organ medical conditions and poor outcomes such as hospitalization, diabetes, kidney disease, mental illness, death, and diseases affecting the lungs, heart, brain, blood, and musculoskeletal systems, suggests a study published yesterday in Nature Medicine.
A study of 97 hospitals in the United States and Canada found that the incidence of urinary tract infection (UTI) and invasive bacterial infection (IBI) in infants with fever fell to pre-pandemic levels by early 2022, researchers reported yesterday in Pediatrics.
Several countries, including many in Europe, have reported more highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu outbreaks in poultry.
