A New Year, A New Lead, and New Offerings to Come

It is a pleasure to write you as the new editor-in-chief of Contagion^®. I have enjoyed watching this publication launch and rapidly scale up its offerings since it began 2 short years ago. I find the newness of Contagion^® appealing and am excited to help shape this young publication into the go-to resource for infectious diseases (ID) practitioners. It is my hope that Contagion^® will be a primary platform that practitioners use to stay up-to-date on ID-related news as our contributors summarize and synthesize the wealth of data available.

Since taking the reins, I have moved to expand upon the offerings in Contagion^® in some areas and refocus others. Two new sections have been created. Monica Mahoney, PharmD, will be leading “In the Literature” where contributors provide critical analyses of new studies of importance in ID as they are published. Sara Schulz, MD, will lead our “Case Study” articles where cases of diagnostic or therapeutic interest are described and reviewed, with pertinent teaching points highlighted. These sections are being introduced in this issue, and I am confident they will become highlights of Contagion^® moving forward.

Each issue contains content in 6 areas, some of which have been refined. Viral Hepatitis has been revised from Hepatitis C to be inclusive of advances in other viral hepatidities. Acute Infections has replaced Respiratory Infections to include more acute-onset infections. Multidrug-Resistant Infections has evolved from Health Care-Acquired Infections to expand its scope as well. Stewardship and Prevention has been expanded to accommodate articles addressing the growing importance for antimicrobial stewardship across practice settings. In this issue, Jamie Wagner, PharmD, and Kalin Clifford, PharmD, have authored a review of successful stewardship strategies for long-term care facilities. Emerging diseases has been re-titled Emerging and Re-Emerging Infections to make way for articles on both “new” pathogens, like Candida auris, and resurgent infections, such as sexually transmitted infections in the elderly. HIV/AIDS remains a section of importance as new therapies are developed and treatment approaches shift.

This issue of Contagion^® contains a feature by the team of Conan MacDougall, PharmD, et al, about the treatment of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) infections. Pseudomonas is a pathogen that justifiably receives a lot of attention in ID circles, but some practitioners, myself included, have lost a bit of their focus on it as other resistant pathogens, such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), have gained prominence. The authors remind us that P. aeruginosa remains the elephant in the room of Gram-negative pathogens in hospitals and take us through the new therapies that treat resistant strains.

As the ever-changing world of ID continues to evolve, so will Contagion^®, and I look forward to steering the publication to meet the growing demands on our profession to provide you with the most timely and relevant content to improve our practice and patient outcomes.

Jason C. Gallagher, PharmD, FCCP, FIDSA, BCPS

Editor-in-Chief