Infectious Disease
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Proton Pump Inhibitors: Too Much of a Good Thing?
Proton pump inhibitor use in infants is associated with a 34% increase in the risk of subsequent infection-related hospitalization. These medications should be used only when the benefits clearly outweigh the risks.
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Duration of Antibiotic Therapy for Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales Bacteremia
This multicenter, observational study provides the first focused comparison of short vs. prolonged antibiotic courses for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales bloodstream infections, suggesting that short courses (eight to 10 days) have similar outcomes to prolonged courses.
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Differential Time to Positivity Is a Useful Measure in Diagnosing Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections
A systematic review and meta-analysis found differential time to positivity (DTP) was a useful measurement in confirming or excluding central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs). However, DTP was not as accurate for CLABSIs resulting from Staphylococcus aureus (lower sensitivity) or Candida spp. (lower specificity) compared to other organisms.
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Comparing Sequelae After Hospitalization with COVID-19, Influenza, or Sepsis
The incidence of most selected new-onset medical conditions did not significantly differ among those who had been hospitalized with COVID-19, influenza, or sepsis.
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The Degree of Pyuria Can Help Determine Urinary Tract Infection in Elderly Women
Elderly women with a urinary tract infection recorded a higher median number of urinary leukocytes compared to uninfected controls, including those with asymptomatic bacteriuria. For 264 leukocytes/µL, the sensitivity and specificity of microscopy were 88%. Using the standard pyuria threshold of 10 leukocytes/µL gave a specificity of 36% and a sensitivity of 100%.
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U.S. Public Health Officials Warn Frontline Providers to Watch for Malaria Cases
Clinicians should raise their suspicion levels for the mosquito-borne illness when patients present with fever with an unknown etiology, even if the patients have not traveled recently to a country where malaria is endemic.
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Oral Antibiotics in Endocarditis: Hitting the Target
Pharmacodynamic/pharmacokinetic analysis of patients in the POET study provides understanding of the efficacy of intravenous-to-oral stepdown antibiotic therapy in patients with endocarditis.
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Increasing Reports of Severe Group A Streptococcal Infection
Around the world, rates of severe illness due to group A Streptococcus are increasing. Possible explanations for the increase include immunity-altering, post-pandemic changes in exposure to respiratory pathogens, as well as the emergence of new pathogenic M strains of Streptococcus.
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Fatal Flea-Borne Typhus in California
Three fatal cases of flea-borne typhus, which is endemic in Southern California as well as in Texas and Hawaii, occurred in Los Angeles County in 2022 — the first such fatalities in two decades.
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Major Cardiovascular Event Risk Reduction with Pitavastatin in People Living with HIV
A large randomized, controlled trial (REPRIEVE) conducted by Grinspoon and colleagues showed that in participants living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who are at low-to-moderate risk for cardiovascular disease, those who received pitavastatin had a 35% lower risk of experiencing a major adverse cardiovascular event over a follow-up of approximately five years than those who received placebo.