Browse Infectious Disease Alert Articles by Topic

Chronic Low-Dose Corticosteroids and Infection Risk

The prolonged use of low-dose oral corticosteroids (including < 5 mg prednisone equivalent doses) in rheumatoid arthritis patients is associated with an increased risk of infection.

Corticosteroid Bursts and Subsequent Sepsis

Short-term (< 14 days) administration of oral corticosteroids is associated with an increased risk of adverse events, including an approximately two-fold risk of sepsis.

First There Was MIS-C, Now There Is MIS-A

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS-A), similar to multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), is described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ethical Issues Affecting COVID-19 Vaccination

The world waits eagerly for a COVID-19 vaccine. But the supply of vaccine is unlikely to initially meet the demand. Ethical issues are important as individuals and groups are prioritized for early vaccination.

Infectious Disease Alert Updates

IL-6 Inhibition and Liver Failure; Can Chopsticks Make You Sick?

Vitamin C, Thiamine, and Steroids for Septic Shock — Still Unproven

Combination treatment with ascorbic acid (vitamin C), thiamine (vitamin B1), and corticosteroids does not improve clinical outcomes in adults with septic shock.

Biofilm, Tap Water, and a Nosocomial Mycobacterium abscessus Outbreak — Bring on the Sterile Water

Stopping a nosocomial Mycobacterium abscessus outbreak by eschewing tap water.

Possible Aerosol Spread of SARS-CoV-2 in an Apartment Building

Although not definitive, evidence is consistent with aerosol spread of SARS-CoV-2 in an apartment building as a result of transport through the drainage system to apartments directly above.

Four Months of Rifampin Is Just as Effective, Safer, and Less Expensive than Nine Months of Isoniazid for Latent Tuberculosis

A health system cost comparison found that four months of rifampin was safer and less expensive than nine months of isoniazid in high-income countries, medium-income countries, and African countries.

Antibiotic Use in COVID-19 Patients

Fifty-seven percent of patients with COVID-19 infection treated at 38 hospitals in Michigan received early empiric antibiotics, although only 3.5% of patients had documented community-onset bacterial co-infection.