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Canadian data show rise in MRSA, VRE blood infections

Data collected from Canadian acute care hospitals show significant increases in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) bloodstream infections (BSIs) in recent years, according to a study in the Canada Communicable Disease Report (CCDR).

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

WHO touts growth of global antibiotic surveillance system

The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that a record number of countries are now monitoring and reporting data on antibiotic resistance but warned that the data reveal worrisome trends.

Cefiderocol gets FDA approval for use in nosocomial pneumonia

Drug maker Shionogi & Co. of Osaka, Japan, announced yesterday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the company's supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) and granted Priority Review designation for the use of cefiderocol to treat adults with nosocomial pneumonia.

US study finds small decline in inappropriate outpatient antibiotics

The proportion of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions issued by US physicians' offices and emergency departments (EDs) decreased minimally from 2010 through 2015, driven mainly by a decrease in unnecessary prescriptions for children, researchers reported yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

WHO posts plan on drinking water, hygiene, wastewater to curb AMR

The World Health Organization (WHO) this week published a technical brief on water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), and wastewater management to prevent infections and curb the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

FDA approves combo antibiotic for hospital-acquired, ventilator-associated pneumonia

Pharmaceutical company Merck announced today that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental New Drug Application for the antibacterial combination drug Recarbrio to treat adult patients with hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (HABP/VABP) caused by gram-negative pathogens.

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

Behavioral interventions tied to less urgent care antibiotic use

Implementation of behavioral "nudges" targeting non–guideline-concordant antibiotic prescribing helped reduce inappropriate prescribing for respiratory tract infections at three California urgent care centers (UCCs), researchers reported last week in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Mass distribution of azithromycin linked to resistant strep in Africa

The addition of the antibiotic azithromycin to seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) was associated with an increase in azithromycin-resistant serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae in children in Burkina Faso, researchers reported yesterday in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Study highlights mode of COVID-19 household spread, coinfections in kids

A study of 68 children in China with COVID-19 reveals that 96% were household contacts of infected adults who had developed symptoms earlier, and 51% of those tested for common respiratory pathogens also had another type of infection.

Study supports shorter antibiotic course for pneumonia in children

A study of children hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) found that a shorter course of antibiotics did not increase the odds of treatment failure compared with a longer course, US researchers reported today in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.

Review suggests mortality benefit for extended beta-lactam infusion

A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and observational studies found that extended infusion of antipseudomonal beta-lactam antibiotics in critically ill patients who had respiratory infections was associated with reduced mortality but not with clinical success, Japanese and Egyptian researchers reported yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

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

Review finds short antibiotic course not tied to worse bacteremia outcome

A meta-analysis of five studies published today in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy determined that, in patients with bacteremia caused by Enterobacteriaceae, short- and long-course antibiotic treatment did not differ significantly in terms of clinical outcomes.

Study analyzes patterns of movement of CRE infections in Atlanta

Using regional surveillance data, researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Emory University have determined that patients with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infections in the Atlanta metro area transfer between healthcare facilities in similar patterns as Medicare patients, with the exception of a handful of nursing homes.

Surveillance data show gonorrhea resistance levels stable in Europe

The latest data from the European Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme (Euro-GASP) reveal stable levels of resistance to the currently recommended antibiotics for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, according to a report today from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). But high resistance to azithromycin threatens the effectiveness of the treatment regimen, ECDC officials warn.

CDC study links reduced antibiotic use with decrease in C difficile rates

Researchers with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today in Clinical Infectious Diseases that reductions in antibiotic use, particularly fluoroquinolones and third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins, was associated with a decrease in Clostridioides difficile rates in US acute care hospitals.

CDC study links reduced antibiotic use with decrease in C difficile rates

Researchers with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today in Clinical Infectious Diseases that reductions in antibiotic use, particularly fluoroquinolones and third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins, was associated with a decrease in Clostridioides difficile rates in US acute care hospitals.

Report: Antibiotic resistance, sustainable development are intertwined

A new report from ReAct and the Dag Hammerskjold Foundation calls for antibiotic resistance to be integrated into the sustainable development agenda.

Study finds improper empiric therapy not tied to worse UTI outcomes

A University of Toronto study has discovered no connection between adequate empiric antibiotic therapy and cure time for patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by bacteria, suggesting a potential for sparing antibiotics, according to a study yesterday in Clinical Microbiology and Infection.

VA study finds 5% rate of prolonged antibiotics after outpatient surgery

A 2-year multicenter Veterans Administration (VA) retrospective cohort study published yesterday discovered that 5% of patients having outpatient surgeries received antimicrobial prophylaxis longer than 24 hours after surgery, with rates varying by procedure, facility type, and surgical specialty.

Australian study shows promise for home IV antibiotics for peds cellulitis

A non-inferiority trial in Australia has determined that intravenous (IV) ceftriaxone at home may be an alternative to IV flucloxacillin in the hospital for children who have cellulitis, according to a study yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Australian study shows promise for home IV antibiotics for peds cellulitis

A non-inferiority trial in Australia has determined that intravenous (IV) ceftriaxone at home may be an alternative to IV flucloxacillin in the hospital for children who have cellulitis, according to a study yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

VA study finds significant antibiotic over-prescribing in outpatients

A new study by pharmacists with a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in upstate New York has found that 40% of the antibiotics prescribed for outpatients were inappropriate. The findings appeared in the American Journal of Infection Control.