Antibiotics

The impact of viruses on community-acquired pneumonia seems to be greater than initially realized and the use of procalcitonin may help distinguish infection type for appropriate treatment.

Contagion® sat down with Rodrigo Mendes, PhD, to discuss research exploring evolving resistance among antibiotics to treat skin infections.

Kirk Hevener, PharmD, PhD, explains the drawbacks of first-line drugs that are currently used to treat C. difficile infections.

The weekly Business Watch includes the latest industry news that practitioners working in infectious diseases need to know.

Thomas File, MD, MSc explains what pleuromutilin antibiotics are and how they work.

Alan Gross, PharmD, BCPS-AQID, explains how antimicrobial stewardship programs need to be strengthened in long-term care facilities.

Incidence of superbug infections are certainly keeping the media in business, but is all the attention translating into an increased awareness of the importance of antibiotic stewardship?

Prof. Josh Davis, MBBS, PhD, discusses the role of combination therapy when it comes to treating invasive Staphylococcus aureus infections.

Niaz Banaei, MD, discusses some reasons why healthcare-associated C. difficile tends to be over-diagnosed.

Researchers describe how government and pharmaceutical companies develop are working to develop new drugs for emerging infectious diseases.

Romney Humphries, PhD, D(ABMM) sat down with Contagion® to discuss the process for receiving clearance on antimicrobial susceptibility tests in the United States.

At the recent ASM Microbe 2017 Conference, Contagion® sat down with David Hooper, MD, ASM Microbe Steering Committee Chair to learn more about his research.

Researchers from the University of Chicago are following the footprints of bacteria throughout a new hospital.

Khalid Eljaaly, PharmD, MS, CAPPS, BCPS, explains why carbapenem antibiotics cause higher rates of C. diff and superinfections.

At the recent ASM Microbe 2017 Conference, Dr. Robert Bonomo shared with attendees highlights of his long-standing career and achievements.

Researchers from Yale University have found a way to make mycobacteria more susceptible to antibiotics.

Jason Gallagher, PharmD, BCPS, FCCP, FIDSA, explains the importance of antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

In case you missed them, here are our top 5 articles for the week of May 28, 2017.

Melissa B. Miller, PhD and Robin Patel, MD sat down with Contagion® to discuss how they believe that molecular-based point of care laboratory testing will revolutionize healthcare.

Is it time to reassess prescribing practices on beta-lactams when it comes to patients with penicillin allergies? The answer is an unquestionable, “Yes!” according to Meghan Jeffres, PharmD.

Meghan Jeffres, PharmD, explains why practitioners need to think about the rate of cross-reactivity between antibiotic penicillin and specific cephalosporins.

Jerod Nagel, PharmD, highlights how rapid diagnostic tools can be utilized in antibiotic stewardship programs to improve outcomes for patients with S. aureus.

Conan MacDougall, PharmD, discusses how behavioral change interventions can positively impact the antibiotic prescribing environment.

Khalid Eljaaly, PharmD, MS, CAPPS, BCPS, explains his team’s findings on the link between carbapenems and superinfections & Clostridium difficile.

Lauri A. Hicks, DO, discusses keys to reducing antibiotic resistance.

Research presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference reports that treatment with antibiotics failed in 1 in 4 adult patients who present with community-acquired pneumonia in the outpatient setting.

Nicola Thompson, PhD, explains how her research can lead to initiatives that aim to result in a decline in the burden of infections in nursing homes.

Gonzalo Bearman, MD, MPH, professor of medicine, and hospital epidemiologist, Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Virginia Commonwealth University, explains how controlling antibiotic use can impact Clostridium difficile rates.

Lauri A. Hicks, DO, Director, Office of Antibiotic Stewardship, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses the importance of preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics.

Researchers at Houston Methodist Hospital have identified that a surprising percentage of Klebsiella pneumoniae infections at their facility are caused by uncommon strains of the pathogen.