Serial Procalcitonin Predicts Mortality in Severe Sepsis Patients

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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