News

During the pandemic, antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections increased in hospitalized patients who tested positive or negative for COVID-19.

One study, presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), found waiting longer in between the first and second Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses boosted immune response 9-fold.

The cases are in the pediatric population and come from 11 countries in the WHO European Region and 1 country in the WHO Region of the Americas.

Investigators used electronic health records (EHR) to perform surveillance of the safety of 3 doses of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.

The pandemic offered valuable lessons on improving the translation of evidence to practice, according to a recent survey of academic medical centers.

Today at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), Shionogi presented late-breaking data from their phase 2/3 clinical trial for S-217622, an investigational 3CL protease inhibitor. On day 4 of treatment with Shionogi’s S-217622, COVID-19 positive viral titers decreased by 90%.

Although the development of antibiotics remains a challenge, there are some legislative strategies that could make it more attractive and get more players involved.

A group of over 60 scientists participated in a communication to the federal agency to advocate for measuring these cells in COVID-19 vaccine trials.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has strongly recommended nirmatrelvir and ritonavir (Paxlovid), as well as remdesivir, for COVID-19 treatment. WHO emphasized that these medicines should be made accessible to low- and middle-income countries.

Investigators consider the low rate of vaccination in the rapidly increasing migrant populations in Europe, and call for improved strategies.

The tactic is seen as a way to ensure supplies of novel drugs in face of resistance crisis.

Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) hospitalizations were 41% lower than expected during the outbreak of COVID-19.

Investigators used procalcitonin (PCT) levels to guide antibiotic recommendations in pediatric intensive care units. PCT-guided antibiotic stewardship decreased the number of antibiotic days without leading to therapy failure.

The investigational vaccine's findings from their phase 1/2 clinical trial were reported at the World Vaccine Congress.

One study, presented this week at the Critical Care Congress, conducted a thorough analysis of all reported cases of myocarditis after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.

What are the clinical characteristics of children under 1 year old who are hospitalized with COVID-19 infection?

In a mouse model, the product protected against C difficile without eliminating the antibiotic’s presence in the blood.

The company says its first bivalent investigational vaccine, mRNA-1273.211, was efficacious against the Beta, Delta, and Omicron strains. They have identified another bivalent booster, mRNA-1273.214, which the company sees as its leading candidate for a fall 2022 scheduled dosing.

The Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics launched today. The CDC intends the CFA to predict future infectious disease pandemics and assist leaders in coordinating a response.

Critical care pharmacists and PGY2CC residents made fewer antimicrobial stewardship interventions on the Mondays following weekends they worked.

One study, presented at the Critical Care Congress, found that initiating remdesivir (Veklury) earlier did not significantly reduce the recovery time of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Masking requirements on public transportation was struck down by a federal judge late yesterday, which is leading to confusion for travelers today.

An analysis of readmissions after hospitalization with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in France found that few readmissions were avoidable, supporting criticism that the measure may lead to unfair penalties under pay-for-performance programs.

The greatest risk factors for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) were age of at least 65 years, severe primary CDI, and use of non-CDI antibiotics. Patients with these risk factors should be prioritized for bezlotoxumab therapy.

Advanced age and comorbidities were more accurate predictors of severe COVID-19 disease than innate immune response.

The meta-analysis included 6 studies, of which 5 were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa, showed that the diagnostic accuracy for Xpert testing was similar to the former symptom screening and rapid test format.

The technology platform could speed up the development of novel therapeutics to combat virulence.

The InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer test detects chemical compounds in breath samples associated with a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Antimicrobial stewardship efforts, such as education for healthcare providers, significantly decreased community-acquired pneumonia antibiotic prescriptions in COVID-19 patients.

Concomitant antibiotic (CA) use for infection treatment is a major risk factor for recurrent C difficile infection. One SHEA 2022 study examined whether fidaxomicin or vancomycin would be more beneficial for CA patients.