Category: Journal Club
An Empiric Nudge in the Right Direction
The following review was originally posted by Dr. Marcelin to the September 2018 SHEA Journal Club and featured on Medscape’s SHEA Expert Commentary earlier this month. Use of empiric antimicrobial treatment in acute care settings is often the result of the “diagnosis momentum” heuristic, wherein the antibiotics started in one location for “sepsis” are continued for several […]
Oct 9, 2018
CRE or not CRE: A Question of Risky Business and Notes from the Field
The following was originally posted by Dr. Marcelin to the August 2018 SHEA Journal Club Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are not as prevalent in the United States as they are in the Eastern Hemisphere; however travel within our global village means creates opportunity for movement of these organisms to our region. The following is a review of […]
Sep 21, 2018
Ceftazidime-avibactam is approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of complicated intra-abdominal and urinary tract infections, and has activity against carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). Data regarding its real-world application and potential pitfalls is still emerging, and this review illustrates some experiences with use and emerging resistance to ceftazidime-avibactam. The authors of the first […]
Aug 15, 2018
Intra-abdominal abscesses – do we REALLY need to know every organism in there?
This is a review of a recently published article. Andrew Kozlov, Lorenzo Bean, Emilie V Hill, Lisa Zhao, Eric Li, Gary P Wang; Molecular Identification of Bacteria in Intra-abdominal Abscesses Using Deep Sequencing, Open Forum Infectious Diseases, Volume 5, Issue 2, 1 February 2018 Most intra-abdominal abscesses are polymicrobial. Sometimes aerobic organisms are identified from culture, […]
Aug 1, 2018
ID Journal Club – BLASTing Inappropriate Allergies out of the EMR with Antimicrobial Stewardship
BLASTing Inappropriate Allergies out of the EMR with Antimicrobial Stewardship The following is a review by one of our fellows Dr. Rajendra Karnatak from our last Journal Club, who discussed the article by Leis et al: Point-of-Care β-Lactam Allergy Skin Testing by Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs: A Pragmatic Multicenter Prospective Evaluation, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 65, Issue […]
Jul 19, 2018
Dogma vs. Necessity: Follow-up blood cultures in patients with gram-negative negative bacteremia
Attending on the inpatient Infectious Disease service always stimulates discussion regarding management of bloodstream infections: What is the optimal duration? Can we use oral antibiotics? Do we need to document clearance of blood cultures? When these discussions lead to review of literature, one will find that the data is evolving in an attempt to answer […]
May 23, 2018
Targeted therapy and antimicrobial stewardship in patients with febrile neutropenia is difficult because in the vast majority of cases, an organism is not identified, and patients are known to be high risk for serious infections. Antibiotic de-escalation in patients with neutropenic fever varies, with European guidelines recommending 72hr de-escalation and North American guidelines recommending continuation […]
Apr 9, 2018
ID Journal Club Presents… Molecular Rapid Diagnostic Tests Improve Clinical Outcome
Bloodstream infections are associated with high mortality. Blood cultures are a reliable and accurate method for the identification of bloodstream infections but can take up to 5 days or even more being finalized, leading to delays in initiation of effective antibiotic therapy. The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) recommends the use of rapid diagnostic […]
Mar 19, 2018
Stewardship-driven Ertapenem Restriction: Can Reduced Utilization Affect the Antibiogram?
In this article review we learn about the impact of a large-scale, multi-institutional Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention on significantly reducing the overall use of ertapenem without subsequent downstream effect on carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) non-susceptibility patterns. Delgado A, Gawrys GW, Duhon BM, Lee GC (2017). Impact of an Antimicrobial Stewardship Initiative on Ertapenem Use and Carbapenem Susceptibilities […]
Mar 1, 2018
Can Social Media Revolutionize Academic Medicine?
As we approach our first anniversary in the blogosphere, it was fitting that our very own Dr. Kelly Cawcutt was invited to write a commentary on a recent publication in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology that explored the use of Twitter messaging at four major Infectious Diseases/Infection Control conferences worldwide. Dr. Cawcutt’s commentary, entitled Twitter Me This—Can […]
Jan 31, 2018
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