Adjunctive use of rifampin for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infections: a systematic review of the literature.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus causes severe life-threatening infections and has become increasingly common, particularly methicillin-resistant strains. Rifampin is often used as adjunctive therapy to treat S aureus infections, but there have been no systematic investigations examining the usefulness of such an approach.

Methods: A systematic review of the literature to identify in vitro, animal, and human investigations that compared single antibiotics alone and in combination with rifampin therapy against S aureus.

Nosocomial fungal infections: epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment.

Invasive fungal infections are increasingly common in the nosocomial setting. Furthermore, because risk factors for these infections continue to increase in frequency, it is likely that nosocomial fungal infections will continue to increase in frequency in the coming decades. The predominant nosocomial fungal pathogens include Candida spp.

Clinical and epidemiologic characteristics cannot distinguish community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection from methicillin-susceptible S. aureus infection: a prospective investigation.

Background: Community-associated (CA) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection has become common worldwide. Some researchers have argued that empirical therapy for MRSA should be given only to patients with suspected CA S. aureus infections who have risk factors for acquisition of MRSA.