Outcomes and Adverse Effects of Baricitinib Versus Tocilizumab in the Management of Severe COVID-19.

Objectives: The National Institutes of Health and Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines recommend tocilizumab or baricitinib in the management of severe COVID-19. Despite clinical trials on the individual agents, there are no large-scale studies comparing the two agents to guide the selection of one versus the other. The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes and adverse effects of baricitinib versus tocilizumab in the management of severe COVID-19.

Education and coaching to optimise blood culture volumes: continuous quality improvement in microbiology.

The blood volume cultured in the detection of bacteraemia is a major variable in treating patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome. The fact that drawing optimal volumes (8-10 mL) of blood for culture increases the sensitivity of the method is well established. This study aimed to optimise the mean blood volumes (mBVs) to that recommended level in a small rural hospital by implementing a continuous quality improvement programme in clinical microbiology.

Dramatic effects of a new antimicrobial stewardship program in a rural community hospital.

Background: New Joint Commission antimicrobial stewardship requirements took effect on January 1, 2017, promoted as a central strategy for coping with the emerging problems of antimicrobial resistance and Clostridium difficile infection. Our objective was to measure the effects of a new antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) in a rural community hospital with no prior ASP, in the context of having a new infectious disease specialist on staff.

Methods: An ASP team was formed to implement a prospective audit with health care provider feedback and targeting 12 antimicrobial agents in a rural hospital in Georgia.

Human Infection: Esophageal Symptoms and Need for Prolonged Albendazole Therapy.

AbstractWe describe a case of human infection with acquired in southeast Georgia. The patient presented with intermittent yet persistent nausea and vomiting for months. This case describes the need for extraction of worms on two occasions each followed by courses of albendazole treatment.

A Case of Penicillin-Resistant Prosthetic Joint Infection of the Knee.

sp. and are emerging pathogens. This is the third case of a monomicrobial sp.