Where all your ID needs are met! Sort of.
First identified by Carlos Chagas (yes, that Chagas) back in 1909, pneumocystis was identified as a cause of plasma cell pneumonia in debilitated infants following WWII (1). Since then, it has been identified as a unicellular fungus that is of low virulence and unique amongst the other fungi in that it lacks ergosterol in its
Some isavuconazole news, a PJI trial, a few HIV-related articles, and therapies for COVID that won’t die. Maertens JA, Raad II, Marr KA, Patterson TF, Kontoyiannis DP, Cornely OA, Bow EJ, Rahav G, Neofytos D, Aoun M, Baddley JW, Giladi M, Heinz WJ, Herbrecht R, Hope W, Karthaus M, Lee DG, Lortholary O, Morrison VA,
Quite a few here. A brief word on the new vancomycin dosing guidelines, dual therapy for enterococcal IE and MRSA bacteremia, and several updates on COVID-19. Anna Poston-Blahnik, Ryan Moenster, Association Between Vancomycin Area Under the Curve and Nephrotoxicity: a single center, retrospective cohort study in a veteran population, Open Forum Infectious Diseases, Volume 8,
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
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
Some interesting articles this time around. This is a pair of articles that came out in the recent Lancet ID issue and deals with the use of antiseptic mouthwash and its role in preventing STIs. Chow EPF, Williamson DA, Hocking JS, Law MG, Maddaford K, Bradshaw CS, McNulty A, Templeton DJ, Moore R, Murray GL,
Flaviviruses flabber my gaster. There are multiple of these that all look the same and all cause very similar diseases (read: hemorrhagic fever). Dengue, West Nile, and Zika are the more widely known given the recent outbreaks in the US of the latter 2. The one that is of historical (and epidemiological) importance is yellow
COVID vaccine news, shorter antibiotics for pneumonia, and odd bugs in odd places. Kortela E, Kanerva MJ, Puustinen J, Hurme S, Airas L, Lauhio A, Hohenthal U, Jalava-Karvinen P, Nieminen T, Finnilä T, Häggblom T, Pietikäinen A, Koivisto M, Vilhonen J, Marttila-Vaara M, Hytönen J, Oksi J. Oral Doxycycline Compared to Intravenous Ceftriaxone in the
Does anyone remember signing out as residents, how there is always a line that goes something along the lines of “if fever, then culture.” As in fever always means there is an infection, or at least a suspicion of it. Of course, fever means inflammation but infection is a type of inflammation so why not
Disappointing HIV vaccine news, more MDR TB, and a possible HITting complication for one of the new COVID vaccines. Gray GE, Bekker LG, Laher F, Malahleha M, Allen M, Moodie Z, Grunenberg N, Huang Y, Grove D, Prigmore B, Kee JJ, Benkeser D, Hural J, Innes C, Lazarus E, Meintjes G, Naicker N, Kalonji D,
Dr. Germophile 