Where all your ID needs are met! Sort of.
COVID-19 is still among us. I had actually predicted it would be an endemic virus, similar to influenza, where we would have to get annual “flu+covid” shots each year to avoid disaster. I have a lot of issues with the initial response, not to mention the amount of useless COVID-related papers that have been published.
Coccidioides (from now on, called Cocci) is an endemic fungi that exists in two forms, yeast and mold, that is endemic to the southeastern United States (1). It is related to both Histoplasma and Blastomyces with two species known to infect humans. C. immitis and C. posadasii. Arthroconidia can be transported in soil or fomites,
I recently wrote about the fact that all pneumonia are aspiration events. Depending on the colonization of the oropharynx and the volume of aspirate material plays a role in the development of subsequent disease. It stands to reason that, if we are able to figure out what is colonizing the oropharynx, we may be able
Aspiration of any content is one of those nebulous things we tend to treat, no matter what. The idea is that aspiration of any oropharyngeal contents into the lungs represents an establishment of a new infection and, thus, it needs to be treated. I think the term aspiration pneumonia is actually misunderstood, and it may
Staphylococcus aureus is an organism that is quite common in many diseases, including skin and soft tissue infections, bacteremias, and pneumonia. It causes fairly severe infection due to its significant number of toxins and virulence factors. I have mentioned the superantigen that causes toxic shock syndrome however another toxin that is useful to know about
Legionella is an interesting organism, it tends to be one of those things you end up looking for and never finding while in the wards but it also tends to cause occasional outbreaks of pneumonia. The most common test that is ordered for this is the urine legionella antigen. I will cover some of the
Last week I talked about invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in influenza and COVID patients. This is not the first time I have talked about this topic. I have mentioned how the halo sign is not terribly specific for IPA, especially in hematological patients and the testing characteristics of galactomannan. I have also spoken about the other
Pulmonary tuberculosis is a global disease that tends to burden underdeveloped countries disproportionally as well people living with HIV. It is a difficult disease to diagnose in the microbiology lab, and as such, there have been various methods deployed in an attempt to diagnose it. While culture is the gold standard, it can take anywhere
Over the past couple of weeks, vitamin D supplementation has been looked at as a potential therapy for COVID-19. Basic science data suggests that vitamin D has an immunomodulatory effects, such as upregulation of oxidative burst in activated macrophages in tuberculosis, or modulation of cytokine profiles that limits excessive production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in viral
Dr. Germophile 