Tag: infection
A Rare Group of White Blood Cells May Be the Secret to Prevent Sepsis
Basophils are evolutionarily conserved in vertebrates, despite their small numbers and short life span, suggesting that they have beneficial roles in maintaining health. However, these roles are not fully defined. Here we... read more
Antibiotics for the Critically Ill Patient
We spend a lot of time obsessing over the finer details of critical care: which fluid is best? which vasopressor is best? will another liter of fluid help? These details are important, but for a septic patient something... read more
Early Lactate Measurements Appear to Improve Results for Septic Patients
The study by Churpek and colleagues was designed to evaluate both the frequency of urgent lactate measurements and their association with clinician interventions and mortality. An elevated lactate level means that a patient's... read more
Adherence of Newborn-Specific Antibiotic Stewardship Programs to CDC Recommendations
Significant gaps exist between CDC recommendations to improve antibiotic use and antibiotic practices during the newborn period. There is wide variation in point prevalence AURs. Three-quarters of infants who received antibiotics... read more
Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccination on Hospitalizations and Risk Factors for Severe Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients With COPD
Influenza vaccination significantly reduced influenza-related hospitalization among patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Initiatives to increase vaccination uptake and early use of antiviral agents... read more
Many Doctors Have Distorted Perceptions of the Value of Medical Tests
In 2014, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care recommended against the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test used to screen for prostate cancer in healthy men, concluding that it results in substantial harms via... read more
Norepinephrine in Septic Shock
Norepinephrine (NE) is both an alpha1- and beta1-agonist, and is therefore able to increase vascular tone and contractility. Recent guidelines recommend NE as the first-line vasopressor in septic shock. However, because septic... read more
Outcomes of Patients Presenting with Mild ARDS
Hospital mortality in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is approximately 40%, but mortality and trajectory in "mild" acute respiratory distress syndrome (classified only since 2012) are unknown, and many cases are... read more
Reducing Hospital-Acquired Infections Among the Neurologically Critically Ill
Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) result in excess morbidity, mortality, and resource consumption. Immobilized, ventilator-dependent ICU patients are at the highest risk of HAI. Despite broad implementation of relevant... read more
You Can Get Sick From Germs on Hospital Floors
When you enter the hospital, probably the last thing that you’re thinking about is the floors. However, an emerging body of research suggests that hospital floors are covered with bacteria and could serve as a potential... read more
Clinical Performance of Beta-D-Glucan for the Diagnosis of Pneumocystis Pneumonia in Cancer Patients Tested with PCP PCR
Patients negative by both Beta-D glucan (BDG) and PCR were unlikely to have Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP). In patients with a compatible clinical syndrome for PCP, higher BDG values (>200 pg/mL) were consistently associated... read more
Tigecycline in Critically Ill Patients on Continuous RRT
Despite high dialysability, dialysis clearance displayed only a minor contribution to tigecycline elimination, being in the range of renal elimination in patients without AKI. No dose adjustment of tigecycline seems necessary... read more
Decontaminants Don’t Cut Bloodstream Infection Risk in Ventilated ICU Patients
The use of digestive and oral decontaminants in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) who are mechanically ventilated and who have moderate to high antibiotic resistance is not associated with a reduction in ICU-acquired... read more
New Sickle Cell Test Can Transform Screening
Sickle cell disease is common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa. It affects up to 3% of births in some areas and is associated with very high mortality. Many cases go undiagnosed in regions where there are few resources,... read more
Vitamin Treatment For Sepsis Is Put To The Test
Dr. Jonathan Sevransky was intrigued when he heard that a well-known physician in Virginia had reported remarkable results from a simple treatment for sepsis. Could the leading cause of death in hospitals really be treated... read more
Antimicrobial Chemical Tied to Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Dust
Most people have heard about antibiotic-resistant germs. But how about antibiotic-resistant dust? A new Northwestern University study has found that an antimicrobial chemical called triclosan is abundant in dust — and linked... read more
Antimicrobial copper touch surfaces may help fight global threat of antibiotic resistance
Copper is a powerful antimicrobial with rapid, broad-spectrum efficacy against bacteria and viruses, and has been shown to kill disease-causing pathogens, including influenza A, E.coli and norovirus, and resistant bacteria... read more
Bacteria ‘alarm clock’ may cause repeat infections in patients
Scientists have discovered a bacteria 'alarm clock' that wakes dormant Salmonella in the body, allowing the bug to trigger a repeat infection. The researchers, from Imperial College London, say the 'alarm clock' is shared... read more
Do State Regulations on Nurse Staffing Make a Difference in ICU Outcomes?
In the recent issue of Critical Care Medicine, Law and colleagues published an evaluation of the impact of changes in Massachusetts state regulations mandating that nurse staffing levels on critical care units be set at 1:1... read more
Electronic Health Records & Preventing Healthcare-Associated Infection
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), as part of the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act of 2009, was created to accelerate the pace of technology diffusion in the American healthcare... read more
PET-CT in Critically Ill Patients: Diagnosing the Unsuspected
PET-CT precisely detected the deep foci of infection about 48 hours prior to the diagnosis of sepsis. The cases reports suggested the use of this image technique in ICU for patients with sepsis of unknown origin. We admitted... read more
Abdominal Sepsis: A Multidisciplinary Approach
Recently released, Abdominal Sepsis examines in detail the topic of sepsis, with a focus on intra-abdominal sepsis. Particular attention is devoted to source control in the management of the infection, antimicrobial therapy... read more
