Category: Uncategorized

Clinical Scholars Program Seeking Applicants

Current Clinical Scholar Dan Ramirez, PharmD, and program coordinator Nikki Regan at a recent conference supported by the Clinical Scholars program. The UNMC/Nebraska Medicine Specialty Care Center is looking for minority or predominantly minority-serving, front-line clinical care providers to participate in a 12 month HIV prevention, diagnosis and management mentorship program.  The Clinical Scholars Program […]

May 19, 2022

Re-Opening Sudan Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Content provided by Dr. Nada Fadul. Sudan emerged from a 30-year dictatorship in 2019 to face the COVID-19 pandemic with a fragile health system and a half-finished transitional government structure. During the dictatorship, the majority of GDP was spent on military and security forces and very little was spent on health. This led to privatization […]

May 25, 2021

The Future of ID Training – UNMC ID Participate in Development of IDSA Antimicrobial Stewardship Curriculum

Content written by Drs. Van Schooneveld and Stohs. Antimicrobial stewardship programs improve patient outcomes, efficiency of care, and are a key tool in combating antimicrobial resistance. The field of antimicrobial stewardship is rapidly expanding and while ID fellows have the foundation for leading antimicrobial stewardship efforts, leading such programs require unique skills and knowledge. To […]

May 18, 2021

VAE – A Perpetual Prevention Problem

Ventilator-Associated Events (VAEs) were adopted by the National Health Safety Network (NHSN) in 2013, and have subsequently been associated with worse patient outcomes. However, the shift to VAE has left controversy as to both its value, and how best to prevent it. Recently, Zhu et al published a large study focused on risk factors and […]

May 11, 2021

COVID Vaccine Trial – Update & Future Adolescent Opportunities

The University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine are participating in an international clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for adults.  Novavax vaccine is a protein-based vaccine from the coronavirus spike protein and is adjuvanted with saponin-based Matrix-M™ to enhance the immune response and stimulate high levels of neutralizing antibodies. It […]

Apr 28, 2021

New Faculty Spotlight – Dr. Daniel Brailita

Background: I was born in Bucharest, Romania and completed Medical School there. I trained in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases in Texas, finishing as chief resident at Texas Tech and chief fellow at UT Southwestern in Dallas. I moved to Nebraska in 2007 where I helped building the first ID practice encompassing Central Nebraska and […]

Apr 15, 2021

Why I Love ID – Dr. Richard Hankins

It has been a hot minute since we had a chance to share the perspective of our faculty on why they love ID. Dr. Hankins was able to share as a fellow, but now shares his updated reasons from the perspective of a junior faculty member. “When thinking of why I love infectious diseases, I […]

Apr 1, 2021

To treat severe injection-related infections in people with substance use disorder, collaborate

Here’s a too-common infectious diseases consultation: A 30-year-old man comes to the ER with two weeks of fevers, chills, and back pain, plus increasingly difficult breathing for the past two days. He has injected opioids for the past five years. He has abscesses in the left arm, tenderness in the low spine, and a new […]

Jul 28, 2020

Physical Barriers for Prevention Amidst a Pandemic – The Roles of Distancing, Masks and Eye Protection

This study provides early evidence of the efficacy of continued PPE use to prevent transmission of COVID-19, both in the community and in the healthcare setting, including continued physical distancing, facemask use and eye protection.

Jul 14, 2020

A critical examination of the controversial study behind hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for COVID-19

On March 20th, the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents published Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment of COVID-19: results of an open-label non-randomized clinical trial by Gautret et al.  The president of the United States tweeted about the article the very next day, and on March 28th the FDA announced an emergency use authorization to […]

Apr 9, 2020