Browse Infectious Disease Alert Articles by Topic

GASP! Increasing Worldwide Antibiotic Resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea threatens to make the infection untreatable in some patients.

Genital HPV in Men: How Common Is It?

In this U.S. cross-sectional survey, the prevalence of genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in adult men was 45%, of which 25% were high-risk subtypes. The overall rate of HPV vaccination among those who were eligible was 11%.

Azithromycin for Chronic Persistent Asthma

Azithromycin reduced exacerbations and improved quality of life in patients with chronic persistent asthma.

Tetracycline for Multiple Sclerosis?

One hundred forty-two patients within 180 days of their first demyelinating event were randomized to minocycline 100 mg BID vs. placebo. The unadjusted risk of conversion to multiple sclerosis within six months after randomization was 61.0% in the placebo group and 33.4% in the minocycline group. At 24 months, the effect of minocycline was not statistically significant.

Cefazolin Leads to Better Outcomes for Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia Than Nafcillin or Oxacillin

A retrospective study that included patients from 119 Veterans Affairs hospitals found lower mortality and a similar recurrence rate for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia treated with cefazolin compared to nafcillin and oxacillin.

Neonatal Group B Streptococcal Bacteremia Associated With Placentophagy

Associated with a mother’s ingestion of encapsulated placenta, an otherwise healthy newborn developed and, with antimicrobial treatment, recovered from both early and late onset group B streptococcal bacteremia. This is apparently the first report of a serious negative consequence of maternal consumption of dried placenta.

Infectious Disease Alert Updates

Antibiotic increases honeybee mortality; Sustained hepegivirus infection in injection drug users; Decrease SSIs: Take August off

2016 Surviving Sepsis Guidelines Update

The Surviving Sepsis Campaign recently published an update to the 2012 guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock. The document incorporates literature published through July 2016.

Sepsis Management: What We Think We Know

In the Protocolized Resuscitation in Sepsis Meta-Analysis (PRISM), 3,723 patients’ outcomes from the ProCESS, ARISE, and ProMISe randomized, controlled trials of early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) were evaluated. EGDT did not result in better outcomes than usual care and was associated with higher costs. The authors of a second study looked at outcomes of 49,331 patients with sepsis treated in New York from April 2014 to June 2016. More rapid completion of the three-hour sepsis bundle and antibiotic administration (but not rapid bolus administration of IV fluids) was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality.

Bug Bytes From Barcelona: Report of the 15th Conference of the International Society of Travel Medicine

In addition to issues of malaria, vaccination, and trauma in travelers, viral diseases and the management of diarrhea were key topics at the biannual meeting of the International Society of Travel Medicine in Barcelona, Spain, during May 2017.