Catheter-related thrombosis in adults with cancer: a secondary analysis of a prospective randomized controlled trial.

Background: Catheter-related thrombosis (CRT) is a complication of central venous access devices (CVADs). Evidence is variable regarding the significance of the side of catheter insertion. The role of the patient's hand dominance in predisposition to CRT remains uncertain.

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.

Primary aortoduodenal fistula and chronic Q fever infection.

We report a case of chronic Q fever presenting with catastrophic bleeding from an infected abdominal aortic aneurysm causing a primary aortoduodenal fistula in an 80-year-old retired farmer. This presentation is rarely reported in literature and only through case reports. Early diagnosis and definitive surgery were critical to a successful outcome.

Fatal Respiratory Diphtheria Caused by ß-Lactam-Resistant Corynebacterium diphtheriae.

Background: Diphtheria is a potentially fatal respiratory disease caused by toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Although resistance to erythromycin has been recognized, β-lactam resistance in toxigenic diphtheria has not been described. Here, we report a case of fatal respiratory diphtheria caused by toxigenic C.

Australian state influenza notifications and school holiday closures in 2019.

: The impact of school holidays on influenza rates has been sparsely documented in Australia. In 2019, the early winter influenza season coincided with mid-year school breaks, enabling us the unusual opportunity to examine how influenza incidence changed during school holiday closure dates. : The weekly influenza data from five Australian state and one territory health departments for the period of week 19 (mid-May) to week 39 (early October) 2019 were compared to each state's public-school holiday closure dates.

Modified measles with an atypical presentation.

We report symptomatic confirmed modified measles infection in a person with one documented MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccination and travel to Indonesia. No secondary cases were identified, consistent with other case reports of modified measles infection. The infectivity of modified measles for contact tracing requirements requires further elucidation.

Effect of Piperacillin-Tazobactam vs Meropenem on 30-Day Mortality for Patients With E coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae Bloodstream Infection and Ceftriaxone Resistance: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Extended-spectrum β-lactamases mediate resistance to third-generation cephalosporins (eg, ceftriaxone) in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Significant infections caused by these strains are usually treated with carbapenems, potentially selecting for carbapenem resistance. Piperacillin-tazobactam may be an effective "carbapenem-sparing" option to treat extended-spectrum β-lactamase producers.

Whole genome analysis of cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli from bloodstream infections in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore: high prevalence of CMY-2 producers and ST131 carrying blaCTX-M-15 and blaCTX-M-27.

Objectives: To characterize MDR Escherichia coli from bloodstream infections (BSIs) in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

Methods: We collected third-generation cephalosporin-resistant (3GC-R) E. coli from blood cultures in patients enrolled in a randomized controlled trial from February 2014 to August 2015.

Antibiotics for acute respiratory infections in general practice: comparison of prescribing rates with guideline recommendations.

Objective: To compare the current rate of antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in Australian general practice with the recommendations in the most widely consulted therapeutic guidelines in Australia (Therapeutic Guidelines).

Design And Setting: Comparison of general practice activity data for April 2010 - March 2015 (derived from Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health [BEACH] study) with estimated rates of prescribing recommended by Therapeutic Guidelines.

Main Outcome Measures: Antibiotic prescribing rates and estimated guideline-recommended rates per 100 encounters and per full-time equivalent (FTE) GP per year for eight ARIs; number of prescriptions nationally per year.

Risk factors for urinary catheter associated bloodstream infection.

Objectives: Urinary catheter associated bloodstream infection (UCABSI) causes significant morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. We aimed to define the risk factors for UCABSI.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted at two Australian tertiary hospitals.

Clinical factors associated with the humoral immune response to influenza vaccination in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background And Objective: Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at a high risk of developing significant complications from infection with the influenza virus. It is therefore vital to ensure that prophylaxis with the influenza vaccine is effective in COPD. The aim of this study was to assess the immunogenicity of the 2010 trivalent influenza vaccine in persons with COPD compared to healthy subjects without lung disease, and to examine clinical factors associated with the serological response to the vaccine.

Experimentally induced blood-stage Plasmodium vivax infection in healthy volunteers.

Background: Major impediments to development of vaccines and drugs for Plasmodium vivax malaria are the inability to culture this species and the extreme difficulty in undertaking clinical research by experimental infection.

Methods: A parasite bank was collected from a 49-year-old woman with P. vivax infection, characterized, and used in an experimental infection study.

Control of fluoroquinolone resistance through successful regulation, Australia.

Fluoroquinolone antimicrobial drugs are highly bioavailable, broad-spectrum agents with activity against gram-negative pathogens, especially those resistant to other classes of antimicrobial drugs. Australia has restricted the use of quinolones in humans through its national pharmaceutical subsidy scheme; and, through regulation, has not permitted the use of quinolones in food-producing animals. As a consequence, resistance to fluoroquinolones in the community has been slow to emerge and has remained at low levels in key pathogens, such as Escherichia coli.

Relapse of imported Plasmodium vivax malaria is related to primaquine dose: a retrospective study.

Background: Relapsing Plasmodium vivax infection results in significant morbidity for the individual and is a key factor in transmission. Primaquine remains the only licensed drug for prevention of relapse. To minimize relapse rates, treatment guidelines have recently been revised to recommend an increased primaquine dose, aiming to achieve a cumulative dose of ≥6 mg/kg, i.

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis 'down under': case series and literature review.

Infective endocarditis is a common complication of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia, but literature reports of community-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) endocarditis are relatively uncommon and mostly comprise intravenous drug users (IVDUs) with the USA300 strain. We report 5 cases of CA-MRSA endocarditis in previously healthy young Australian adults, 4 in IVDUs.