Infectious Disease Alert articles from December 2003

Infectious Disease Alert archives from December 2003

ICAAC/IDSA/ASTMH 2003.(Conference Coverage)(Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy/Infectious Disease Society of America/American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene )
December 1, 2003... The following summary of selected abstracts from 3 meetings will be published in multiple parts. The 43rd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) met in Chicago September 14-17, 2003. The Infectious Disease...

Meeting the need for rapid microbiology.( )(Author Abstract)
December 1, 2003... THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT BIOTERRORISM HAS SPURRED new science. One of the fields that has been affected acutely is the identification of biowar pathogens. Speed and accuracy of identification are crucial if there are to be effective public...

E-mails to improve compliance to a protocol.(Author Abstract)
December 1, 2003... DESIGNING PROTOCOLS IS ONE THING; KEEPING TO the recommendations is quite another. This is shown clearly in this study of episodes of catheter-related bacteremia (CRB). The protocol was based on recommendations of the Infectious Diseases...

'Nailing' down a Pseudomonas outbreak in cardiac surgery.(Author Abstract)
December 1, 2003... DURING AN 8-MONTH PERIOD IN 2001; 5 SURGICAL-site infections due to P aeruginosa occurred in a university hospital. Three were sternotomy infections, and 2 were infections of a saphenous vein harvest site. Infection control records showed that...

Effect of influenza vaccination on otitis media in young children.( )(Author Abstract)
December 1, 2003... ARANDOMIZED, DOUBLE-BLIND, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED trial of inactivated trivalent subvirion influenza vaccine was conducted during 1999-2001 among 786 children aged 6-24 months. Children received 2 doses (0.25 mL each) of vaccine approximately 4...

Which patients with S aureus bacteremia are at risk for serious disease?( )(Author Abstract)
December 1, 2003... THIS STUDY, PERFORMED BY FOWLER AND ASSOCIATES at Duke University Medical Center, attempted to identify whether certain easily discernible demographic, clinical, and laboratory features could predict which patients with Staphylococcus aureus...

A macrolide for Pseudomonas? The wonders of Azithromycin.( )(Author Abstract)
December 1, 2003... THE MACROLIDE STUDY GROUP NOTED THE APPARENT beneficial effects of azithromycin in the theraphy of patients with panbronchiolitis, a condition seen mostly in Japan with similarities to cystic fibrosis. Both diseases are thought to have...

Atazanavir: have we finally arrived at once-daily dosing for HIV?(Special Feature)
December 1, 2003... Introduction Atazanavir (Reyetaz(R)), an azapeptide class of protease inhibitors, was approved by the US FDA for use in HIV infection on June 20, 2003. Atazanavir (ATV) has a unique pharmacokinetic profile allowing for once-daily dosing,...

CME questions.(continuing medical education)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... 13. Once a protocol is implemented, compliance: a. is assured. b. needs to be monitored. c. is likely to be high. d. is likely to be low. e. is as good as can be expected. 14. Which of the following organisms has been...

SARS audio program updates guidelines.(severe acute respiratory syndrome )
December 1, 2003... Leading epidemiologists say a global return of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is almost inevitable. The current overriding concern is that SARS will resurface as a seasonal illness along with influenza and other respiratory...

Weight loss in type 2 diabetes.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... MOST SUBJECTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES (DM2) are overweight. There is abundant support for the diverse benefits of weight loss in DM2, including improved insulin resistance, lipid profiles, and blood pressure, to name but a few. Unfortunately,...

Dalteparin and chronic foot ulcers in diabetics with PAD.(peripheral arterial occlusive disease)(Author Abstract)
December 1, 2003... THE INCREASING PREVALENCE OF type 2 diabetes (DM2) will be likely accompanied by an increase of late-onset diabetic complications, such as chronic foot ulcers (CFU). One of the limiting factors in healing CFU is the microcirculatory impairment...

Pioglitazone and LDL in nondiabetic hypertensives.(low density lipoprotein)(Author Abstract)
December 1, 2003... THE ROLE OF LDL IN DEVELOPMENT of arteriosclerotic disease is well established. In some patient groups, especially diabetics, the type of LDL appears to be as (or more) important than the absolute amount of LDL. That is, small dense LDL...

Parathyroid hormone and alendronate alone or in combination in postmenopausal osteoporosis.(Author Abstract)
December 1, 2003... THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF osteoporosis (OSPS) present formidable public health issues for men and women, especially since the somewhat disconcerting results of the Women's Health Initiative have dampened enthusiasm for hormone replacement...

Evaluation of d-Dimer in the diagnosis of suspected deep-vein thrombosis.(Author Abstract)
December 1, 2003... ALL STRATEGIES CURRENTLY USED FOR the diagnosis of suspected deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) are imperfect. Since investigative tools are time-consuming, can produce false-positive results leading to unnecessary hospitalizations and treatments, and...

Exercise testing to predict cardiovascular and all-cause death in women.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... IN THE MID 1997S ALMOST 3000 ASYMPtomatic women underwent Bruce-protocol exercise treadmill tests (ETT) as part of the Lipid Research Clinics Prevalence study. These women had entered the trial due to elevated lipids, but were free of known...

Eplerenone cleared for CHF patients with sustained MI.(congestive heart failure)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The FDA has approved Pfizer's eplerenone (Inspra) for the treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF) in patients who have sustained a myocardial infarction. The drug is a selective aldosterone blocker, a new class of drug for the treatment of...

No adverse effect with concomitant aspirin and ACE inhibitor use in CHF patients.(congestive heart failure)(Author Abstract)
December 1, 2003... Aspirin does not adversely affect survival in patients with stable CHF who were being treated with an ACE inhibitor, according to a French study published in October. This study contradicts earlier studies, which raised concern about the...

HIV treatment shows high failure rate.(triple nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor HIV treatment regimen shows failure)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A once-daily, triple nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) HIV treatment regimen has seen a high number of treatment failures and HIV resistance. The rate of virologic failure reached 91% along with a high rate of HIV resistance to...

New psoriasis treatment approved.(Raptiva from Genentech)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The FDA has approved the second biologic for the treatment of psoriasis. Genentech's efalizumab (Raptiva) was approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis in October. It joins Biogen's alefacept (Amevive), which was approved in...

THG controversy gains steam.(tetrahydrogestrinone)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The FDA has issued a warning regarding tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), a synthetic "designer" steroid, which is derived by simple chemical modifications from another anabolic steroid. Little is known about the safety of the drug or its structure,...

New study examines sulfonamide nonantibiotics.(Author Abstract)
December 1, 2003... Is it safe to use a sulfonamide-based nonantibiotic in patients who have an allergy to sulfonamide antibiotics? A large retrospective cohort study from the United Kingdom looked at this issue and suggests that penicillin allergy is as likely or...

FDA actions.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Novavax Inc has received FDA approval to market a new topical estrogen therapy for the treatment of hot flashes in menopausal women. The white lotion is an emulsion of estradiol topical that women apply only to their legs, thighs or calves on a...