Impact of a nurse practitioner-led dedicated outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy clinic on patient outcomes and administrative workload: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) enhances patient safety, improves outcomes, and reduces healthcare costs by decreasing 30-day readmissions and adverse events. However, the optimal structure and follow-up protocols for OPAT programs remain undefined. Identifying high-risk patients for readmission and managing adverse drug events (ADEs) are critical components of OPAT care.

A Needs Assessment for Infectious Diseases Consultation in Community Hospitals.

Introduction: Infectious diseases (ID) consultations have been demonstrated to improve patient outcomes in the treatment of severe infections. However, ID consultation is often unavailable to patients that live in rural communities. Little is known regarding the treatment of infections in rural hospitals with no coverage from an ID specialist.

Update on pneumococcal vaccination in adults: Simpler is better.

Recommendations for pneumococcal vaccination in adults have been updated in the hopes not only of preventing more cases of invasive pneumococcal disease but also of making the recommendations simpler and easier to follow.

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the Diagnosis of Infective Endocarditis in the COVID-19 Era.

In the COVID-19 pandemic, to minimize aerosol-generating procedures, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) was utilized at our institution as an alternative to transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for diagnosing infective endocarditis (IE). This retrospective study evaluated the clinical utility of CMR for detecting IE among 14 patients growing typical microorganisms on blood cultures or meeting modified Duke Criteria. Seven cases were treated for IE.

Cerebral Venous Thrombosis due to Cryptococcus in a Multiple Sclerosis Patient on Fingolimod.

Fingolimod is a disease-modifying treatment utilized in the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Fingolimod has been associated with an increased risk in herpes simplex and varicella infection in clinical trials. We report a case of cerebral venous thrombosis secondary to cryptococcus in a patient receiving fingolimod.

Ethical Implications of the Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: Disclosure of a False-Positive HIV Test.

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has gained popularity as an effective therapeutic option for infection (CDI). Since its FDA recognition as a treatment modality for recurrent CDI in 2013, screening protocols for FMT donor stool have been in flux. However, extensive health questionnaires, in combination with serological and stool assays, have become mainstays in the donor screening process, although ethical implications are yet to be thoroughly considered.

Efficacy of tocilizumab in COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The efficacy of tocilizumab (TOC), monoclonal antibody against interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor, in patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients has led to conflicting results. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the efficacy of addition of TOC to standard of care (SOC) versus SOC in patients with COVID-19. We performed a comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, WHO COVID, LitCOVID, and Cochrane databases.