Predictors of Treatment Success After Periprosthetic Joint Infection: 24-Month Follow up From a Multicenter Prospective Observational Cohort Study of 653 Patients.

Background: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating condition and there is a lack of evidence to guide its management. We hypothesized that treatment success is independently associated with modifiable variables in surgical and antibiotic management.

Methods: The is a prospective, observational study at 27 hospitals across Australia and New Zealand.

Improving screening and management of latent tuberculosis infection: development and evaluation of latent tuberculosis infection primary care model.

Background: In Australia, demand for specialist infectious diseases services exceeds capacity to provide timely management of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in areas of high refugee and asylum seeker settlement. A model for treating LTBI patients in primary care has been developed and piloted in a refugee-focused primary health service (Monash Health Refugee Health and Wellbeing [MHRHW]) and a universal primary care clinic. This study reports on the development and evaluation of the model, focusing on the model feasibility, and barriers and enablers to its success.

Clinical Characteristics, Etiology, and Initial Management Strategy of Newly Diagnosed Periprosthetic Joint Infection: A Multicenter, Prospective Observational Cohort Study of 783 Patients.

Background: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating complication of joint replacement surgery. Most observational studies of PJI are retrospective or single-center, and reported management approaches and outcomes vary widely. We hypothesized that there would be substantial heterogeneity in PJI management and that most PJIs would present as late acute infections occurring as a consequence of bloodstream infections.

Broad-Ranging Nutritional Deficiencies Predict Amputation in Diabetic Foot Ulcers.

Diabetic foot ulcers present across the spectrum of nonhealing wounds, be it acute or many months duration. There is developing literature highlighting that despite this group having high caloric intake, they often lack the micronutrients essential for wound healing. This study reports a retrospective cohort of patients' micro- and macro-nutritional state and its relationship to amputation.

Investigating Understandings of Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Resistance in Diverse Ethnic Communities in Australia: Findings from a Qualitative Study.

This paper explores the understandings of antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among ethnically diverse informants in Melbourne, Australia. A total of 31 face-to-face semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with a sample of ethnic in-patients who were admitted with an acquired antimicrobial infection in a public hospital ( = 7); five hospital interpreters; and ethnic members of the general community ( = 19) as part of a broader study of lay understandings of AMR. Thematic analysis revealed there was poor understanding of AMR, even among informants being treated for AMR infections.

Aiming for 90-90-90 - the importance of understanding the risk factors for HIV exposure and advanced HIV infection in migrant populations and other groups who do not report male-to-male sex.

Unlabelled: Background In Australia, new HIV diagnoses increasingly occur among people who do not report male-to-male sex. Among migrants, it is not clear what proportion acquired infection before migration. Similarly, among Australian-born people, it is not clear what proportion acquired infection in-country.

Managing diabetic foot infections: a survey of Australasian infectious diseases clinicians.

Background: Diabetic foot infections (DFI) present a major morbidity, mortality and economic challenge for the tertiary health sector. However, lack of high quality evidence for specific treatment regimens for patients with DFIs may result in inconsistent management. This study aimed to identify DFI caseload proportion and patterns of clinical practice of Infectious Diseases (ID) Physicians and Trainees within Australia and New Zealand.

Acquisition of HIV by African-born residents of Victoria, Australia: insights from molecular epidemiology.

African-born Australians are a recognised "priority population" in Australia's Sixth National HIV/AIDS Strategy. We compared exposure location and route for African-born people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Victoria, Australia, with HIV-1 pol subtype from drug resistance assays and geographical origin suggested by phylogenetic analysis of env gene. Twenty adult HIV positive African-born Victorian residents were recruited via treating doctors.

Understanding of latent tuberculosis, its treatment and treatment side effects in immigrant and refugee patients.

Background: Isoniazid treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is commonly prescribed in refugees and immigrants. We aimed to assess understanding of information provided about LTBI, its treatment and potential side effects.

Methods: A questionnaire was administered in clinics at a tertiary hospital.

Development and validation of an instrument to assess the risk of developing viral infections in Australian travelers during international travel.

Background: Questionnaires are widely used for data collection in travel medicine studies, but there are no validated instruments that are available to researchers in this field. Our objective was to develop and validate a questionnaire to be used in a prospective study designed to estimate the risk of three viral infections in Australian travelers to Asia.

Methods: Qualitative nonexperimental cognitive methods, including cognitive review, task analysis, and cognitive interviews, were selected.

African Australians living with HIV: a case series from Victoria.

Background: This research aimed to describe the characteristics of African-born Victorians living with HIV, identify associations with delayed HIV diagnosis and describe their response to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART).

Methods: A case series of African-born adults living with HIV in Victoria was conducted. Data was collected in interviews and reviews of case notes.

Delayed diagnosis of HIV infection in Victoria 1994 to 2006.

Background: The identification of factors associated with delayed diagnosis of HIV infection in Victoria, Australia was the aim of the present study.

Methods: Demographic and epidemiological characteristics of cases notified to the Victorian HIV surveillance database between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 2006 were analysed. Delayed diagnosis was defined as: CD4 count below 200 cells mm(-3) at HIV diagnosis or diagnosis of AIDS earlier than 3 months after HIV diagnosis.