Effectiveness of multidisciplinary interventions to improve blood culture efficiency and optimize antimicrobial utilization.

Background: The low positive rate of blood cultures often leads to downstream consequences. We present a summary of multidisciplinary interventions implemented by a tertiary referral hospital to improve blood culture efficiency and optimize antimicrobial usage.

Methods: We evaluated the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of healthcare workers in a tertiary care hospital before and after intervention using a questionnaire.

A Hybrid Antimicrobial Peptide Targeting with a Dual Function of Inhibiting Quorum Sensing Signaling and an Antibacterial Effect.

Community-associated methicillin-resistant (MRSA) is now a major cause of bacterial infection. Antivirulence therapy does not stimulate evolution of a pathogen toward a resistant phenotype, providing a novel method to treat infectious diseases. Here, we used a cyclic peptide of CP7, an AIP-III variant that specifically inhibited the virulence and biofilm formation of () in a nonbiocidal manner, to conjugate with a broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide (AMP) via two N-termini to obtain a hybrid AMP called CP7-FP13-2.

Antibacterial Activity of a Novel Acid-Activated Antimicrobial Peptide against .

Background: Dental caries is an oral disease associated with infection by microbial biofilm. The metabolic activity of cariogenic bacteria results in a pH decrease in the plaque biofilm, causing tooth demineralization. This acidic environment favors the growth of cariogenic bacteria that are highly resistant to strong acids, which, in turn, produce more acid resulting in a further decrease in the pH of the plaque biofilm.