A retrospective propensity-score-matched cohort study of the impact of procalcitonin testing on antibiotic use in hospitalized patients during the first wave of COVID-19.

Background: Procalcitonin (PCT) is a blood marker used to help diagnose bacterial infections and guide antibiotic treatment. PCT testing was widely used/adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

Objectives: Primary: to measure the difference in length of early (during first 7 days) antibiotic prescribing between patients with COVID-19 who did/did not have baseline PCT testing during the first wave of the pandemic.

Group G streptococcal bacteraemia: an opportunistic infection associated with immune senescence.

The number of cases of group G streptococcal bacteraemia reported worldwide is increasing. Twenty-six cases of group G streptococcal bacteraemia were identified during a 70-month period at a single university teaching hospital in Sheffield, UK. These cases represented 20% of all bacteraemias due to beta-hemolytic Streptococci, a higher proportion than previously reported.

The burden of invasive pneumococcal disease and the potential for reduction by immunisation.

Streptococcus pneumoniae causes invasive disease world-wide and in all age groups. The reported incidence varies geographically and is increased in certain population groups. The incidence is highest in children less than 2 years and is also increased in the elderly.