Infectious Disease Alert – November 1, 2023

Antibiotic Stewardship vs. Diagnostic Stewardship for Reducing Unnecessary Antibiotics in Asymptomatic Bacteriuria

A statewide quality study compared antibiotic stewardship to diagnostic stewardship for hospitalized patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria. It found that reducing urine cultures decreased unnecessary antibiotic prescribing better than antibiotic stewardship.

First-Choice Antibiotic for Acute Bacterial Sinusitis in Children

Review of a large database reveals that, for children treated for acute sinusitis, amoxicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanate yield similar rates of treatment failure. However, medication side effects are more common when amoxicillin-clavulanate is used.

New International Guidelines on Prolonged Infusion Beta-Lactams

The largest randomized clinical trial of prolonged vs. intermittent beta-lactam antibiotic (meropenem) infusion in septic intensive care unit patients found no benefit in mortality or emergence of antibiotic resistance. Unfortunately, this trial has numerous flaws that ultimately limit its generalizability.

Use of Ceftobiprole for Complicated Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia

In a randomized, controlled trial conducted by Holland and colleagues, no significant difference in overall treatment success of complicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia was observed in patients who received ceftobiprole as compared with patients who received daptomycin.

Infectious Disease Alert Updates

Infectious Disease Approval to Reduce Hospital Clostridioides difficile Cases; Oral Amoxicillin for Syphilis