Look, I know I have talked a lot about staphylococcus but there is a ton of details that go into the therapeutic aspects of it. When it comes to staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, specifically MRSA, vancomycin is the first line therapy per the IDSA guidelines (1). I have discussed the issues with vancomycin dosing, and how
Category: Treatment
Last post was all about dogs and their mouths. This time, is about cow placentas. At least to a certain extent. Coxiella burnetii is a gram negative organism that is known to cause a variety of diseases, however it is most commonly associated with culture-negative endocarditis. While it is generally a “wimpy” organism and not
There are multiple associations in medicine where the mere mention of a location, occupation, or risk factor elicits a response with regards to the disease. In infectious disease, there are multiple such as “spelunking” being associated with histoplasmosis, IV drug abuser associated with MRSA endocarditis, or cows placentas being associated with Q fever. When it
The use of rifampin for staphylococcal infections is a bit controversial. The recommendation seems to be its use on infections involving prosthetic material, such as prosthetic valve endocarditis or prosthetic joint infections. For instance, the AHA infective endocarditis (1) guidelines recommends the addition of rifampin to a regimen consisting of vancomycin to infectious caused by
Consider this post a continuation of the prior one on prophylaxis. I mention a bit on the pathophysiology, where adaptive immunity seems to play a key role in the way the body deals with the fungus, with mice with SCID infected with pneumocystis not being able to mount an inflammatory response. As a result of
Leptospirosis is related to the other spirochetes such as T. pallidum and B. burgdorferi. As such, they are thin-coiled bacterium that are difficult to detect via traditional staining methods, and like B. burdorferi, it is a zoonotic disease. It is prevalent anywhere there is water, and has a worldwide distribution. Despite this, the prevalence varies
Klebsiella pneumoniae is an organism that is typically seen as the cause of pneumonia in people with diabetes and alcoholics, and it also causes nosocomial bacteremia and urinary tract infections. This is a fairly common organism to deal with in the inpatient setting, however one particular type of Klebsiella has been more frequently described in
If you are reading this, I am sure you are aware of C. diff. You have either thought about it in patients who are getting antibiotics and have diarrhea, groaned at the fact you have to don PPE when “ruling out” C. diff, or had a horrible experience (perhaps not personal) where things went south
Dr. Germophile 