Infectious Disease Alert – June 1, 2012
June 1, 2012
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Azithromycin The Heart of the Matter
Ray and colleagues examined the risk of cardiovascular death among patients 30 to 74 years of age enrolled in the Tennessee Medicaid program that had been prescribed azithromycin between 1992 and 2006. -
Fatal Outcomes Following Family Transmission of M. pneumoniae
A retrospective study was conducted on members of one family following the deaths of a 15 year old boy and his 13 year old sister. Airway, CSF and serum samples were collected from the two fatal cases. Serum was collected from the three remaining ill siblings and both parents. -
Linezolid for Nosocomial MRSA Pneumonia: A Better Option?
The treatment of MRSA pneumonia is often regarded as problematic, with unacceptably high morbidity and mortality rates among affected patients. Two recent prospective, randomized, double-blind trials found that linezolid was non-inferior to vancomycin for the treatment of nosocomial pneumonia. -
Should Cefazolin be Preferred Treatment for Methicillin-susceptible S. aureus Bacteremia Instead of Nafcillin?
Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteremia is a commonly encountered infection in hospitalized patients that can have serious complications if not adequately treated. -
The Most Common Cause of Encephalitis?
CEP first reported 10 cases of a newly recognized cause of encephalitis in 2009. -
HPV-related Oral Cancers Increase by 225% in U.S. from 1988 to 2004
Based on an analysis of data from the National Program of Cancer Registries and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results programs, CDC determined that there was an average annual occurrence of 33,369 cancers at sites frequently associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection during 2004-2008. -
Updates
National data available for 2011 indicate that a total of 10,521 new TB cases were reported last year in the United States (incidence 3.4 cases/100,000 population), representing an overall decline of 3.8% from 2010. TB continues to disproportionately affect foreign born persons, and Asians became the single largest racial/ethnic group affected by TB, with a case rate 25 times higher than non-Hispanic whites. -
Pharmacology Watch: Critical Drug Shortages Are on the Rise
In this issue: Drug shortages; metformin and cancer prevention; migraine prevention guidelines; and FDA actions. -
Clinical Briefs in Primary Care supplement