Author: Jasmine Riviere Marcelin, MD

Technology vs. Humans: Role of Rapid Diagnostics and Antimicrobial Stewardship in Cancer Patients

Rapid diagnostic testing (RDTs) plays an important role in Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASP) and highlights the impact of the Microbiology laboratory on reducing inappropriate antibiotic use, particularly in hospitalized patients. Early microbial identification with RDTs can lead to earlier initiation of targeted antimicrobial therapy, which can in turn result in shorter hospitalization, fewer adverse events […]

Jan 3, 2019

Farewell to 2018; a year of UNMC ID growth

2018 has been a year of growth for our Division of Infectious Diseases. We have added several new faculty to our group (and still actively hiring), continued to redesign the College of Medicine Infectious Diseases curriculum, established a new Orthopedic Infectious Diseases service line, expanded our social media presence, joined multiple national Infectious Diseases committees, […]

Dec 28, 2018

At the end of 2018, we remember and respect Influenza, 100 years after the great pandemic

The Mother of All Pandemics In the 1918-1919 calendar year, the world experienced the worst influenza pandemic in modern times. Coming on the heels of WWI, the H1N1 pandemic occurred in three waves – in the spring of 1918, fall 1918 and spring 1919. Estimates suggest that the pandemic infected a third of the world’s […]

Dec 26, 2018

Pharm To Exam Table – Candida glabrata Urinary Tract Infections

The following is a clinical review written by Allison Graner, UNMC College of Pharmacy PharmD candidate 2019, and supervised by Scott Bergman PharmD FIDSA, Clinical Pharmacy Coordinator of Nebraska Medicine Antimicrobial Stewardship Program What is the appropriate treatment for urinary tract infection caused by Candida glabrata? Infections caused by the fungus known as Candida, the […]

Dec 21, 2018

Skin Deep: A Closer Look at Treatment of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections

Current guidelines for management of Skin/Soft Tissue Infections (SSTIs) were published in 20141.  Nevertheless, management of SSTIs is variable, likely driven by the fact that culture data is often unavailable to direct clinical decision making. Treatment variability results in inappropriate antimicrobial use, highlighting the need for antimicrobial stewardship. Consequently, management of SSTIs is one area […]

Dec 3, 2018

UNMC Infectious Diseases Fellows are Antibiotics Aware

The following was written by Dr. Raj Karnatak, 2nd year ID fellow at UNMC; a reflection of his current Antimicrobial Stewardship/Infection Control rotation: The UNMC Infectious Diseases fellowship antimicrobial stewardship and infection control rotation provides robust training for fellows in both antimicrobial stewardship and infection control. Training is well designed with education in all the […]

Nov 16, 2018

How Nebraska ASAP is Making Everyone Antibiotic Aware

The following was written by Dr. Salman Ashraf, co-Medical Director of the Nebraska Antimicrobial Stewardship Assessment & Promotion Program (ASAP): Antibiotic Resistance is one of the most urgent threats to the public health. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics allows the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Unfortunately, a significant proportion of antibiotic use in various healthcare settings […]

Nov 15, 2018

Nebraska Medicine is Proud to #BeAntibioticsAware

Our Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) at Nebraska Medicine has been in place since 2004. Over the years our program has changed and improved sought to expand and improve its approach with the goal of providing extraordinary care to our patients. Rather than an overly restrictive practice, our program has we have emphasized constant regular communication […]

Nov 14, 2018

Governor Ricketts Proclaims Antibiotic Awareness Week in Nebraska

Last year, Nebraska’s Governor Pete Ricketts signed a proclamation declaring Antibiotic Awareness Week in Nebraska, and he again signed a proclamation this year, declaring November 12-18 Antibiotic Awareness Week in our state. Once again, Dr. Maureen Tierney, leader of Nebraska’s Healthcare Associated Infections Program, championed the drafting of the proclamation and received support from the Governor for […]

Nov 12, 2018

Does the Clostridium Smell Diffy? Even the Dogs Disagree…

The C. difficile sniffing dogs are back! There are several prior reports of individual dogs being trained to “sniff out” C. difficile. In a novel approach, the authors of this study trained two dogs simultaneously, and then compared interrater reliability between sniff attempts. They used toxigenic C. difficile frozen stool samples (GDH EIA and PCR […]

Nov 5, 2018