Infectious Disease Alert 2008-02-01

Visceral Leishmaniasis in 4 US Army Soldiers

The infectious diseases group at Walter Reed reported the clinical cases of 4 patients who acquired visceral leishmaniasis during deployments to either Afghanistan (two patients) or Iraq (two patients).

Schistosomiasis and Strongyloidiasis in African Refugees

Refugees resettling to the United States and other developed countries frequently suffer from infectious diseases, and can pose diagnostic or therapeutic dilemmas for health care providers in their new homes.

Acute Maxillary Sinusitis — Is Treatment Effective?

Acute sinusitis is a common presenting complaint in primary care; most cases are treated with oral antibiotics despite controversy as to whether such treatment is effective.

P. knowlesi: A Newly Recognized Human Pathogen

A nested PCR Method was used to identify and speciate cases of malaria in two regions of Malaysia. This study showed a significant proportion of patients to have been infected with P. knowlesi, a pathogen of Old World macaques and previously rarely recognized in humans.

Therapeutic Trial of Growth Hormone Releasing Factor in HIV patients

This multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of a synthetic GHRH analogue, tesamorelin (1-44 amino acids from the amino terminal of GHRH with a trans-3-hexenoyl group added to the amino terminal to increase the half-life over native GHRH), randomized 412 patients (86% male) to daily subcutaneous tesamorelin vs placebo for 26 weeks.

Non-HACEK Gram-Negative Bacillus Endocarditis

Sixty-one hospitals in 28 countries participated in a prospective cohort study of hospitalized patients with definite endocarditis.

Take Off Your Tie!

The UK Department of Health has instituted measures they believe will prevent hospital acquired infections.

BinaxNOW Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test

The diagnosis of malaria has traditionally relied upon microscopy. However, microscopic diagnosis is labor intensive and somewhat subjective, and assurance of quality standards can be difficult at best.

Updates by Carol A. Kemper, MD, FACP

Castleman Disease, a rare lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by fever, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, high sedimentation rates, and polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia, is being seen with increasing frequency in HIV-positive persons.

Pharmacology Watch: Another Study Implicates Avandia

In this issue: Rosiglitazone (Avandia) implicated in yet another study; Prilosec and Nexium not associated with cardiac events; Anastrozole (Arimidex) shown more effective than tamoxifen for treatment of early-stage breast cancer; antibiotics show no effect on sinusitis; FDA actions.

Infectious Disease Alert – February 1, 2008

February 1, 2008