Infectious Disease Alert articles from January 2004

Infectious Disease Alert archives from January 2004

In a community near you: MRSA.(Special Feature)(methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus )
January 1, 2004... The evolution of antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus is an epic saga. Resistance to penicillin was first reported in the 1940s, at a time when the drug still remained in short supply. No reliable effective therapy against...

The vice of VRSA.(vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus )(Author Abstract)
January 1, 2004... Synopsis: The results of genetic analysis of a strain of S aureus with high-level resistance to vancomycin suggest that this resistance was the consequence of genetic transfer from a VRE to an MRSA, each present in and on the unfortunate...

Antiviral drug resistance: implications for post-exposure prophylaxis in health care workers with occupational HIV exposure.(Author Abstract)
January 1, 2004... Synopsis. In a multicenter study of occupational HIV exposures, 38% of source patients had genotype mutations associated with resistance to antiretroviral drugs. Recent antiretroviral treatment history was highly associated with resistance. ...

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 )
January 1, 2004... 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...

CME questions.(continuing medical education)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... 1. By CDC criteria, to be designated vancomycin resistant, an isolate of S aureus must have an MIC of: a. [greater than or equal to] 128 [micro] /mL. b. [greater than or equal to] 64 [micro] /mL. c. [greater than or equal to] 32...

Drug users battle tetanus.(Updates)
January 1, 2004... Sources: Eurosurveillance Weekly. 2003;7; ProMED-mail Post. November 30, 2003. An outbreak of tetanus involving 6 (and possibly 7) injection drug users in England and Wales has officials concerned that others may be at risk. Six of the...

Did Alexander the Great die of WNV encephalitis?(Updates)(West Nile virus)
January 1, 2004... Source: Marr J, Callsher CH. Emerg Infect Dis. 2003;9:1599-1603. COULD ALEXANDER THE GREAT'S sudden demise in Mesopotamia in 323 B.C. from a 2-week febrile illness, culminating in coma and flacid paralysis, have been the result of West Nile...

Multidrug resistance threatens Cape Town.(Updates)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Source: ProMED-mall Post. November 21, 2003. South Africans are no strangers to tuberculosis (TB)--a country with the highest prevalence of AIDS/HIV, and about 225,000 reported cases of TB last year However, multidrug-resistant TB remains...

Fosamprenavir released by US FDA.(Updates)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Source: GlaxoSmithKline "Dear Healthcare Professional" letter. 2003; Package insert, October 2003. FOSAMPRENAVIR, A PRODRUG OF amprenavir, which is rapidly hydrolyzed to the active compound by cellular phosphatases in the gut, is the...

St John's Wort and drug interactions.(Author Abstract)
January 1, 2004... Source: Markowitz JS, et al. JAMA. 2003;290:1500-1504. THE CYTOCHROME P450 SYSTEM IS responsible for the metabolism of the majority of currently prescribed medications. The 2 most common P450 pathways involved in drug metabolism are CYP 3A4...

Serum potassium and stroke risk among hypertensive adults.(Author Abstract)
January 1, 2004... Source: Smith NL, et al. Am J Hypertens. 2003;16:806-813. OBSERVATIONAL DATA INDICATE THAT persons who consume greater levels of dietary potassium have both lowered blood pressure and reduced risk of stroke. This protective effect of...

Skin cancer prevention and detection practices among siblings of patients with melanoma.(Author Abstract)
January 1, 2004... Source: Geller AC, et al. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2003;49:631-638. MORE THAN ONE-HALF MILLION Americans have invasive malignant melanoma (MEL), and the incidence of this disorder has risen an alarming 15-fold since World War II. Family members...

TZDs and HF in people with type 2 diabetes.(thiazolidinediones; heart failure)(Author Abstract)
January 1, 2004... Source: Delea TE, et al. Diabetes Care. 2003;26:2983-2989. THIAZOLIDINEDIONES (TZDS) OFFER numerous potential benefits in diabetic patients, including improved insulin-stimulated glucose disposal, decreased insulin resistance, and favorable...

Exercise plus behavioral management in patients with AD.(Alzheimer's disease)(Author Abstract)
January 1, 2004... Source: Teri L, et al. JAMA. 2003; 290:2015-2022. ALTHOUGH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) prompts clinicians to immediately address cognitive function, there is much less awareness of AD effect upon physical conditioning. AD patients have been...

Spironolactone in resistant HBP.(high blood pressure)(Author Abstract)
January 1, 2004... Source: Nishizaka MK, et al. Am J Hypertens. 2003;16:925-930. A COMMONLY ACCEPTED DEFINITION of resistant hypertension (r-HTN) is failure to obtain blood pressure control (ie, In the past, use of aldosterone antagonists like...

Vioxx might control postoperative knee pain.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Oral rofecoxib (Vioxx) may have a role in controlling postoperative pain patients undergoing knee surgery. Researchers in Chicago enrolled 70 patients who were undergoing total knee arthroplasty and randomized them to rofecoxib 50 mg the day...

Echinacea has no value for URIs.(upper respiratory tract infection)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Just in time for winter, another study showed that Echinacea has no value for reducing the duration or severity of upper respiratory tract infections (URIs). The herbal remedy is commonly used worldwide for this indication. In this study of...

Valsartan, captopril have similar benefits.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Valsartan and captopril have similar benefits in patients with myocardial infarction complicated by left ventricular systolic dysfunction, heart failure, or both, according to a new study. Previous studies have shown that ACE inhibitors reduce...

In-patients likely to continue lipid use.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... In-patients who are started on lipid-lowering therapy following coronary intervention are 3 times more likely to continue on the drugs compared to patients who are started on the same therapy as outpatients. Using data from the EPILOG trial in...

More on metformin/lactic acidosis.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... When it comes to the relationship between metformin and lactic acidosis, the emperor may have no cloths. The drug, which has been used to treat type 2 diabetes for more than 40 years, has always carried with it the stigma that it may cause...

FDA notes.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The FDA has approved tadalafil (Cialis), Eli Lilly and Icos Corp's entry into the lucrative phosphodiesterase inhibitor market. With the success of sildenafil (Viagra), and newcomer vardenafil (Levitra) already generating huge profits, Cialis...