Articles Tagged With:
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Blood GFAP Measurements for Rapid Diagnosis of ICH
The early diagnosis of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is important to initiate rapid interventions, such as lowering blood pressure and reversing the effects of antithrombotic medications. Plasma assays of glial fibrillary acidic protein may become a useful tool for the prehospital diagnosis of ICH, but it needs further study before adoption in the clinical setting.
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Tolebrutinib May Slow Disability Progression in Patients with SPMS
A recent prospective study showed that tolebrutinib slows disability progression in patients with nonrelapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). There were some safety concerns, especially hepatotoxicity. A lack of demonstrated effect on some functional outcomes warrants careful consideration and continuing study.
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CSF α-Synuclein Seed Amplification Assays in Parkinsonian Syndromes
This large longitudinal study, which looked at cerebrospinal fluid α-synuclein seed amplification assays (SAAs) from three large cohorts, demonstrated efficacy in distinguishing between Parkinson’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy, as well as predicting cognitive decline based on kinematic analysis of the SAA samples.
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Long-Term Peripheral Nerve Function Changes in People with Well-Controlled Type 2 Diabetes
The authors conducted a prospective observational study comparing the effect of early diagnosed, well-controlled type 2 diabetes on peripheral nerve function. Overall, they found similar rates of decline in nerve function in people with well-controlled diabetes compared to age- and sex-matched individuals with normal glucose tolerance. Given the similar decline in nerve function, the authors concluded that the course of diabetic sensorimotor neuropathy is influenced primarily by nerve function at the time of diagnosis and age-related physiological decline.
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Infectious Disease Updates
Do Gowns Help Prevent Transmission of Respiratory Viruses? How to Assess the ‘Wobble’ in Your IGRA?
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Fecal Microbiota Transplant as First-Line Therapy for Primary C. difficile Infection
In a randomized controlled trial conducted in Norway, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) was noninferior to vancomycin for the treatment of primary Clostridioides difficile infection, with 66.7% of patients in the FMT group achieving clinical cure without recurrence compared to 61.2% in the vancomycin group over 60 days of follow-up.
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In Vitro Activity of Newer Antibiotics Against CREs in the United States
The activity of newer beta-lactam/beta-lactamase combination antibiotics depends on the specific type of carbapenemase carried by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales.
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Second BCG Dose to Prevent Tuberculosis in Adolescents
Despite a previous study raising the hope that giving Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine to adolescents who previously had received BCG as newborns would better prevent sustained tuberculosis (TB) infections, a new study conclusively demonstrates that revaccination with BCG during adolescence has no statistically significant effect on the incidence of subsequent TB infection or sustained positivity of interferon gamma receptor assay tests.
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Effects of COVID-19 on Antimicrobial Resistance in U.S. Hospitals
In a retrospective cohort study, researchers found that antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) infections increased during the COVID-19 pandemic from 182 to 193 per 10,000 hospitalizations. Recent antibiotic exposure, increased illness severity, and comorbidities were associated with AMR infections.
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Contaminated Pediatric Blood Cultures
Falsely positive (contaminated) blood culture samples lead to unnecessary antimicrobial use, excessive testing, prolonged hospitalizations, and increased healthcare costs. In pediatric settings, the greatest risk of blood culture contamination is with infants younger than 1 year of age and with children in emergency department settings.