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Study examines ways to cut antibiotics in terminal cancer patients

A single-center study of terminal cancer patients found a high rate of antibiotic use within the last 30 days of life, with significantly lower use among those who asked for limited antimicrobial treatment, researchers reported yesterday in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Trial supports stopping antibiotics for RTIs when not needed

Discontinuing antibiotics for uncomplicated respiratory tract infections (RTIs) when a physician has determined that antibiotics aren't needed is a safe strategy for reducing unnecessary antibiotic use, according to the results of a randomized clinical trial published yesterday in Clinical Microbiology and Infection.

Indonesian drug outlets often dispense antibiotics without prescription

A study involving simulated patients found that dispensing antibiotics without a prescription is common in Indonesian drug stores and pharmacies, despite regulations against it, researchers reported this week in BMJ Global Health.

China confirms 2 more H5N6 avian flu infections

Chinese officials reported two more H5N6 avian influenza infections in patients from two different provinces, raising the country's total this year to 13, the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said today in a statement.

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

Survey examines caregiver attitudes on antibiotic use

A survey of US caregivers found that more than 1 in 10 either planned or had already administered a nonprescription antibiotic (NPA) to their child, researchers reported last week in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.

ACIP: Benefits of COVID-19 vaccines outweigh risks

Today Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) published a summary of the findings of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on adverse events related to the three COVID-19 vaccines approved for emergency use in the United States, two-dose mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, and a single shot adenovirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.

Canadian surveillance shows rise in multidrug-resistant pathogens

The proportion of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae found in Canadian hospital patients increased substantially from 2007 through 2018, according to a surveillance study published today in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Study links COVID restrictions to increased UK dental antibiotic use

A study published late last week in the British Dental Journal suggests that restricted access to dental care in England during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a sharp rise in dental antibiotic prescribing.

Childhood vaccine uptake down 26% this year, report estimates

Nine million childhood vaccines are projected to be missed by the end of this year in the United States—a 26% decrease compared with 2019—according to a Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) report. This decline would cause a gap between vaccination rate and that required for herd immunity of 4.8 percentage points for measles and 12.7 percentage points for pertussis (whooping cough).

Report says COVID-19 holds lessons for response to AMR

The COVID-19 pandemic, and the global response, contain important lessons that can be used to avert a future pandemic caused by antimicrobial resistance (AMR), according to a new report from the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP).

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

Report says COVID-19 holds lessons for response to AMR

Originally published by CIDRAP News Nov 19

Danish stewardship intervention tied to improved pneumonia prescribing

An antibiotic stewardship intervention implemented at four regional hospitals in Denmark was associated with significantly lower overall antibiotic exposure for patients who had community acquired pneumonia (CAP) and a higher likelihood of patients being treated with recommended antibiotics, Danish researchers reported late last week in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

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

Danish stewardship intervention tied to improved pneumonia prescribing

Originally published by CIDRAP News Nov 23

Experts develop research agenda for pediatric infections, stewardship

A group of clinicians and researchers with expertise in pediatric healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial stewardship has developed a list of high-priority research topics for improving health outcomes in children.

CARB-X to fund treatments for S aureus pneumonia, Pseudomonas

CARB-X today announced two new funding awards for German scientists working on therapies for difficult-to-treat bacterial infections.

Higher-than-expected antibiotic prescribing during UK COVID lockdown

Telephone consultations could be the reason why antibiotic prescribing at general practices in the United Kingdom was higher than expected during the first COVID-19 lockdown, researchers with the University of Nottingham reported yesterday in the Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Extensively drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains detected in Italy

Two extensively drug-resistant strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae identified in two patients at an Italian hospital in May appear to be a dangerous variant of a strain that caused an outbreak in Tuscany in 2018 and 2019, Italian scientists reported yesterday in Eurosurveillance.

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

CDC report shows declines in healthcare-associated infections

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows some encouraging declines in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) across four US healthcare settings, including one linked to antibiotic use.

Primary care stewardship cuts antibiotics, costs for respiratory infections

A cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in Spanish primary care settings suggests a multifaceted stewardship intervention helped reduce antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) and was cost-effective, Spanish researchers reported yesterday in Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control.

First US case of gonorrhea with resistance-conferring mutation identified

A paper today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR) describes the first US case of Neisseria gonorrhoeae harboring a genetic element that confers resistance to a first-line antibiotic.

Trial finds no impact on trachoma from mass azithromycin distribution

A randomized clinical trial in Niger found that mass distribution of azithromycin to preschool-aged children was no more effective at reducing incidence of trachoma than placebo, researchers reported today in JAMA Network Open.

Life expectancy fell amid COVID, especially for Hispanic and Black males

In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, life expectancy in the United States fell by 4.5 and 3.6 years for Hispanic and Black males, respectively, while declining 1.5 years for their White counterparts, finds a study published yesterday in PNAS.

Ebola vaccination launches in latest DRC outbreak area

Within days of confirming a new Ebola case in North Kivu province, medical teams in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today launched an Ebola vaccination campaign in Beni, the area where the fatal case was reported.

On Twitter, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it provided 200 vaccine doses and is supporting the country's ring vaccination campaign.