Infectious Disease Alert – September 1, 2014
September 1, 2014
View Issues
-
ID Grand Rounds - Stanford University Woman, 58, with Fever and Abdominal Pain
A 58-year-old woman from Southern Australia with a history of medically-managed liver abscess eight months prior to admission and recurrent urinary tract infections presented to our hospital with two weeks of fever and right upper quadrant. -
A Strategy for Early Discontinuation of Antibiotics in Febrile Infants
Approximately half of blood cultures taken from febrile infants with bacteremia turn positive within 15 hours of sampling. -
Dosing of Beta-Lactam Antibiotics in Critically Ill Patients Is Often Inadequate
Dosing of beta-lactam antibiotics in critically ill patients is often inadequate and results in poor clinical outcomes. -
Tapered antibiotics with kefir may be effective in recurrent C. difficile infection.
A prospective case series that included patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection found that treatment with tapered antibiotic therapy and the probiotic drink kefir resulted in a clinical cure of 84% (21 out of 25 patients). -
Treatment of Dengue Failure of a Novel Agent
There was no evidence of significant benefit from the administration of the antiviral agent, celgosivir, in the treatment of patients with dengue fever. -
Out of Africa: Ebola Cases come to U.S.
As the first cases of Ebola ever treated in the U.S. were recently admitted to a special containment unit at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, clinicians and public health officials continued to reassure a jittery public that infection control measures would prevent transmission and contain the virus. -
Lab incidents divide scientists on research
A series of biosafety breaches in federal labs working with highly pathogenic agents has created a rift in the research community, with some calling for a moratorium until safety can be assured and other scientists arguing that this important work should continue with appropriate precautions to prepare for pandemics and bioterror attacks. -
Updates