Infectious Disease Alert

Remdesivir and COVID-19

Remdesivir is safe and moderately effective in the treatment of patients with COVID-19.

Macrolides During Pregnancy — Behind the Headlines

Despite published concerns, there is no good evidence that macrolide use during pregnancy causes birth defects.

Monotherapy of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bacteremia — Which β-Lactam Antibiotic Is Best?

No significant difference in the mortality of patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia was seen regardless of treatment with a carbapenem, ceftazidime, or piperacillin-tazobactam. However, the emergence of resistance occurred significantly more frequently in those treated with a carbapenem — largely related to imipenem use.

Contact Isolation Is Not Better than Standard Precautions for Decreasing Acquisition of ESBL-Producing Enterobacterales

In a multicenter, cluster-randomized crossover trial, researchers compared standard precautions vs. contact isolation for preventing acquisition of ESBL-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) in non-intensive care unit settings. Contact isolation did not decrease the number of hospital-acquired ESBL-E cases, which questions the value of the practice.

IDSA Sepsis Committee and SEP-1 Quality Measures

The IDSA Sepsis Committee proposes that The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock Early Management Bundle (SEP-1) should be applied only to septic shock, not sepsis without shock.

Ceftriaxone-Resistant Salmonella Typhi in the United States Associated with Travel to or from Pakistan and Iraq

Typhoid fever resulting from antibiotic-resistant strains is being imported from Pakistan and Iraq.