Tag: antibiotics
WHO Resolution: Recognizing Sepsis as a Global Health Priority
The true burden of disease arising from sepsis remains unknown. The current estimates of 30 million episodes and 6 million deaths per year come from a systematic review that extrapolated from published national or local population... read more
A Randomized Trial of the Amikacin Fosfomycin Inhalation System for the Adjunctive Therapy of Gram-Negative VAP
Clinical failures in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) caused by gram-negative bacteria are common and associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and resource utilization. In this trial of adjunctive aerosol therapy... read more
WHO tries to keep certain antibiotics largely off the table
In a bid to battle antibiotic resistance, the World Health Organization for the first time has classified antibiotics into three categories, including one that lists the drugs it hopes will not be used except in circumstances... read more
Hospitalists can help improve antibiotic stewardship
Hospitalists can, and should, help curb unnecessary antibiotic use. Nearly three-quarters of patients who have been diagnosed with community acquired pneumonia are receiving antibiotics for longer periods than necessary,... read more
Infection Prevention and Healthcare Associated Infections
It is difficult to overstate the importance of healthcare associated infections (HAI). Approximately 4% of patients who enter hospitals in the United States develop an infection related to their hospital care. Although... read more
Antimicrobial Stewardship and Appropriate Antimicrobial Prescribing in Hospitals
This study examines whether an antimicrobial stewardship approach grounded in behavioral theory and focusing on preserving prescriber autonomy and participation is associated with appropriateness of antimicrobial prescribing... read more
Serial Procalcitonin Predicts Mortality in Severe Sepsis Patients
Objectives: To prospectively validate that the inability to decrease procalcitonin levels by more than 80% between baseline and day 4 is associated with increased 28-day all-cause mortality in a large sepsis patient population... read more
No Major Azithromycin Arrhythmia Risk in Huge European Cohort
Current use of azithromycin (Zithromax/Zmax, Pfizer) was linked with a twofold increased risk of ventricular arrhythmia compared with no antibiotic use, but this risk disappeared when azithromycin use was compared with amoxicillin... read more
Effect of an automated notification system for deteriorating ward patients on clinical outcomes
We performed a prospective before-and-after study in all patients admitted to two clinical ward areas in a district general hospital in the UK. We examined the effect on clinical outcomes of deploying an electronic automated... read more
Lung Microbiome: Key to Respiratory Ills?
Recently, JAMA discussed this research and its potential clinical applications with 2 experts on the front lines, Jack Gilbert, PhD, a microbial ecologist at the University of Chicago and director of its new Microbiome Center... read more
Komodo dragon-inspired synthetic peptide DRGN-1 promotes wound-healing of a mixed-biofilm infected wound
Cationic antimicrobial peptides are multifunctional molecules that have a high potential as therapeutic agents. We have identified a histone H1-derived peptide from the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), called VK25. Using... read more
The impact of emergency department crowding on early interventions and mortality in patients with severe sepsis
Critically ill patients require significant time and care coordination in the emergency department (ED). We hypothesized that ED crowding would delay time to intravenous fluids and antibiotics, decrease utilization of protocolized... read more
Ultra-Short-Course Antibiotics for Patients With Suspected Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia but Minimal and Stable Ventilator Settings
Many patients started on antibiotics for possible ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) do not have pneumonia. Patients with minimal and stable ventilator settings may be suitable candidates for early antibiotic discontinuation.... read more
Comparing Use of Low-Value Health Care Services Among U.S. Advanced Practice Clinicians and Physicians
Many physicians believe that advanced practice clinicians (APCs) provide care of relatively lower value. APCs and physicians provided an equivalent amount of low-value health services, dispelling physicians' perceptions... read more
Multifaceted educational intervention shortened time to antibiotic administration in children with sepsis
A multifaceted educational intervention shortened time to antibiotic administration in children with severe sepsis and septic shock: ABISS Edusepsis pediatric study. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) recommends the administration... read more
World's most threatening superbugs ranked in new list
The World Health Organization has drawn up a list of the drug-resistant bacteria that pose the biggest threat to human health. Top of the list are gram-negative bugs, such as E. coli, which can cause lethal bloodstream infections... read more
Wide variations found in evaluation of newborns for sepsis
The evaluation of well-appearing term infants for early-onset sepsis (EOS) varies considerably among hospitals, with some doing extensive work-ups and giving antibiotics while others simply observe and provide newborn routine... read more
Interventions to improve antibiotic prescribing practices for hospital inpatients
This review includes 221 studies (58 RCTs, and 163 NRS). Most studies were from North America (96) or Europe (87). The remaining studies were from Asia (19), South America (8), Australia (8), and the East Asia (3). We found... read more
Study shows brute force antibiotics can overcome resistance
Researchers at the University College London have developed a new method that may overcome antibiotic resistance in bacterial cells. The team used sensitive equipment to measure the mechanical forces that four different antibiotics,... read more
Global multicenter observational investigator initiated study
The DIANA study is a large multicenter cohort study, lead by intensive care unit experts out of the University Hospital Ghent. This investigator initiated study will collect a large amount of data from multiple centers and... read more
Bad news for sepsis-3.0: qSOFA fails validation
Sepsis 3.0 replaced the SIRS criteria with a new risk-stratification tool, qSOFA. qSOFA was initially developed within the Sepsis-3 publication itself. Until now, qSOFA has never been validated. The value of qSOFA vs. SIRS... read more
