Similar duration of viral shedding of the severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) delta variant between vaccinated and incompletely vaccinated individuals.

Among outpatients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to the severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) δ (delta) variant who did and did not receive 2 vaccine doses at 7 days after symptom onset, there was no difference in viral shedding (cycle threshold difference 0.59, 95% CI, -4.68 to 3.

The Use of Rifampin in Total Joint Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies.

Background: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating complication of total joint arthroplasty (TJA). Rifampin is an antibiotic with the ability to penetrate bacterial biofilms, and thus has been considered as a potentially important adjunct in the prevention and treatment of PJI. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate and summarize the use of rifampin in TJA, particularly in the context of PJI.

Detection of severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in outpatients: A multicenter comparison of self-collected saline gargle, oral swab, and combined oral-anterior nasal swab to a provider collected nasopharyngeal swab.

Background: Widespread testing for severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is necessary to curb the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but testing is undermined when the only option is a nasopharyngeal swab. Self-collected swab techniques can overcome many of the disadvantages of a nasopharyngeal swab, but they require evaluation.

Methods: Three self-collected non-nasopharyngeal swab techniques (saline gargle, oral swab and combined oral-anterior nasal swab) were compared to a nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV-2 detection at multiple COVID-19 assessment centers in Toronto, Canada.

Sensitivity of midturbinate versus nasopharyngeal swabs for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

To compare sensitivity of specimens for COVID-19 diagnosis, we tested 151 nasopharyngeal/midturbinate swab pairs from 117 COVID-19 inpatients using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Sensitivity was 94% for nasopharyngeal and 75% for midturbinate swabs (P = .0001).

Identification of prosthetic hip and knee joint infections using administrative databases-A validation study.

Objective: To determine whether combinations of diagnosis and procedures codes can improve the detection of prosthetic hip and knee joint infections from administrative databases.

Design: We performed a validation study of all readmissions from January 1, 2010, until December 31, 2016, following primary arthroplasty comparing the diagnosis and procedure codes obtained from an administrative database based upon the International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) to the reference standard of chart review.

Setting: Four tertiary-care hospitals in Toronto, Canada, from 2010 to 2016.

Predictors of Treatment Failure for Hip and Knee Prosthetic Joint Infections in the Setting of 1- and 2-Stage Exchange Arthroplasty: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort.

Background: Prosthetic hip and knee joint infections (PJIs) are challenging to eradicate despite prosthesis removal and antibiotic therapy. There is a need to understand risk factors for PJI treatment failure in the setting of prosthesis removal.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of individuals who underwent prosthesis removal for a PJI at 5 hospitals in Toronto, Canada, from 2010 to 2014 was created.

Reducing co-administration of proton pump inhibitors and antibiotics using a computerized order entry alert and prospective audit and feedback.

Background: Antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are associated with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Both a computer order entry alert to highlight this association as well as antimicrobial stewardship directed prospective audit and feedback represent novel interventions to reduce the co-administration of antibiotics and PPIs among hospitalized patients.

Methods: Consecutive patients admitted to two General Internal Medicine wards from October 1, 2010 until March 31, 2013 at a teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada were evaluated.

Dolutegravir - a review of the pharmacology, efficacy, and safety in the treatment of HIV.

Dolutegravir is the newest integrase strand transfer inhibitor to be approved for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Dolutegravir is equivalent or superior to existing treatment regimens in both treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced patients including those with previous raltegravir or elvitegravir failure. The consistent efficacy coupled with excellent tolerability and infrequent drug-drug interactions makes the co-formulation of dolutegravir with two nucleotide reverse-transcriptase inhibitors an attractive treatment option.

Elevator buttons as unrecognized sources of bacterial colonization in hospitals.

Background: Elevators are ubiquitous and active inside hospitals, potentially facilitating bacterial transmission. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of bacterial colonization on elevator buttons in large urban teaching hospitals.

Methods: A total of 120 elevator buttons and 96 toilet surfaces were swabbed over separate intervals at 3 tertiary care hospitals on weekdays and weekends in Toronto, Ontario.

Postoperative pneumonia in elderly patients receiving acid suppressants: a retrospective cohort analysis.

Objective: To test whether gastric acid suppressants are associated with an increased risk of postoperative pneumonia in patients undergoing elective surgery.

Design: Population-wide retrospective cohort analysis.

Setting: Canadian acute care hospitals between 1 April 1992 and 31 March 2008.