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Infectious Diseases
Concise physician-authored perspectives on the most clinically relevant original research, guidelines, and new drug and vaccine approvals critical to the treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of infectious diseases.
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Featured Article
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Assays for Invasive Fungal DiseaseFree
- November 18, 2009
- Neil M. Ampel, MD
Two new antigen-based tests show promise and could prove useful for immunocompromised patients.
- Reviewing:
- Maertens J et al. Clin Infect Dis 2009 Dec 1; 49:1688
Recent Infectious Diseases Articles
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
L-AmB vs. D-AmB for Cryptococcal Meningitis in Solid-Organ Transplant Recipients
- November 18, 2009
- Neil M. Ampel, MD
Ninety-day mortality was significantly better with lipid formulations of amphotericin B than with the deoxycholate formulation.
- Reviewing:
- Sun H-Y et al. Clin Infect Dis 2009 Dec 1; 49:1721
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Bait and Switch — Vaccinia Infection from Animal Rabies Vaccine
- November 18, 2009
- Stephen G. Baum, MD
Contact with liquid vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein recombinant virus vaccine, used to prevent rabies spread among animals, caused vaccinia infection in an immunocompromised woman.
- Reviewing:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2009 Nov 6; 58:1204
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Lipid-Lowering Therapy in HIV-Infected Patients
- November 18, 2009
- Rajesh T. Gandhi, MD
Gemfibrozil levels are reduced by lopinavir/ritonavir coadministration, which may explain the difficulty in lowering triglycerides in HIV-infected patients.
- Reviewing:
- Busse KH et al. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2009 Oct 1; 52:235
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Background Events and Mass VaccinationFree
- November 10, 2009
- Mary E. Wilson, MD
Knowledge about background rates of disease events is needed to assess events temporally related to vaccination.
- Reviewing:
- Black S et al. Lancet 2009 Oct 31
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Pneumococcal DNA Load in CAP
- November 10, 2009
- Larry M. Baddour, MD
The Streptococcus pneumoniae DNA load in blood may have both diagnostic and therapeutic implications.
- Reviewing:
- Peters RPH et al. J Clin Microbiol 2009 Oct; 47:3308
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Acetaminophen After Vaccination Reduces Antibody ResponseFree
- November 4, 2009
- Mary E. Wilson, MD
Prophylactic doses of acetaminophen given after vaccination reduce fever but blunt antibody response to multiple antigens.
- Reviewing:
- Prymula R et al. Lancet 2009 Oct 17; 374:1339
DRUG WATCH
Peramivir for Treatment of 2009 H1N1 Influenza
- November 4, 2009
- Lynn Estes, PharmD
Responding to a CDC request, the FDA authorized the emergency use of this investigational agent in critically ill patients.
- Reviewing:
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 2009 Oct 24
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Hepatitis E Outbreak Among Cruise Ship Passengers
- November 4, 2009
- Mary E. Wilson, MD
Overall, 4% of passengers returning from a 3-month world cruise tested positive for recent HEV infection; one third of these individuals had symptomatic hepatitis.
- Reviewing:
- Said B et al. Emerg Infect Dis 2009 Nov; 15:1738
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Infections of the Cheek
- November 4, 2009
- Robert S. Baltimore, MD
Researchers describe a series of seven children with such infections. Recovery took many months, and clarithromycin did not seem to hasten resolution.
- Reviewing:
- Haimi-Cohen Y et al. J Pediatr 2009 Nov; 155:746
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Children with UTIsFree
- October 28, 2009
- Howard Bauchner, MD
- Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Prophylaxis was associated with a modest but significant reduction in recurrent UTI.
- Reviewing:
- Craig JC et al. N Engl J Med 2009 Oct 29; 361:1748
Editor's Picks from across Journal Watch
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Can HPV Vaccination Combat Genital Warts?
- November 5, 2009
- By Anna Wald, MD, MPH
- Women's Health
Yes — and the benefit extends beyond vaccinated women to their male sexual partners.
- Reviewing:
- Sex Transm Infect 2009 Oct 16
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Second-Regimen Failure and Mortality Risk
- November 9, 2009
- By Keith Henry, MD
- HIV/AIDS Clinical Care
Although second-regimen failure and associated mortality declined significantly between 1996/1997 and 2005, the mortality risk remained high.
- Reviewing:
- Clin Infect Dis 2009 Nov 15; 49:1582
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Immune Activation Persists Despite Effective ARTFree
- November 9, 2009
- By Helmut Albrecht, MD
- HIV/AIDS Clinical Care
In a cohort of HIV-positive patients, markers of immune activation remained elevated despite 6 years of effective antiretroviral therapy. Immune activation was associated with lower CD4-cell counts.
- Reviewing:
- J Infect Dis 2009 Oct 15; 200:1212
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Viramidine vs. Ribavirin for Hepatitis C Infection
- November 6, 2009
- By Atif Zaman, MD, MPH
- Gastroenterology
The ribavirin prodrug viramidine failed to demonstrate noninferiority to ribavirin in achieving sustained virologic response rates.
- Reviewing:
- Hepatology 2009 Sep; 50:717
Journal Watch Infectious Diseases summarizes important medical journal articles about a wide variety of infectious disease subjects including antibiotic resistance, hepatitis, HIV, influenza, malaria, pneumonia, sepsis, sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis.
