Treatment of chlamydia and gonorrhea infections during the COVID-19 pandemic using provisional Centers for Disease Control guidance.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic created new challenges in controlling the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), forcing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to temporarily modify recommendations. As rapid COVID-19 testing emerged, supplies for similar testing platforms, specifically Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, became compromised.

Local Problem: The local community was identified as having the highest rate of chlamydia infections in North Carolina.

Evaluation of Methicillin-Resistant Carriage and High Livestock Production Areas in North Carolina through Active Case Finding at a Tertiary Care Hospital.

Recent reports from the Netherlands document the emergence of novel multilocus sequence typing (MLST) types (e.g., ST-398) of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) in livestock, particularly swine.

A case control study of environmental and occupational exposures associated with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage in patients admitted to a rural tertiary care hospital in a high density swine region.

Background: Distinct strains of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have been identified on livestock and livestock workers. Industrial food animal production may be an important environmental reservoir for human carriage of these pathogenic bacteria. The objective of this study was to investigate environmental and occupational exposures associated with nasal carriage of MRSA in patients hospitalized at Vidant Medical Center, a tertiary hospital serving a region with intensive livestock production in eastern North Carolina.

The impact of a "search and destroy" strategy for the prevention of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in an inpatient rehabilitation facility.

Objective: To determine how the implementation of a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) control program in an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) affects MRSA health care-associated infections (MRSA-HAIs).

Design: A retrospective chart review.

Setting: IRF affiliated with Vidant Medical Center, an 861-bed, acute-care teaching hospital for The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.

Medical and household characteristics associated with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage among patients admitted to a rural tertiary care hospital.

Background: Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) poses a threat to patient safety and public health. Understanding how MRSA is acquired is important for prevention efforts. This study investigates risk factors for MRSA nasal carriage among patients at an eastern North Carolina hospital in 2011.

Outbreak of Mycobacterium mucogenicum bloodstream infections among patients with sickle cell disease in an outpatient setting.

Objective: To study an outbreak of Mycobacterium mucogenicum bloodstream infections in an outpatient setting.

Design: Outbreak investigation and retrospective chart review.

Setting: University outpatient clinic.

Importance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus eradication in carriers to prevent postoperative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus surgical site infection.

Although infrequent, postoperative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) surgical site infection (SSI) is associated with significant morbidity and cost. Previous studies have identified the importance of MRSA screening to diminish the risk of postoperative MRSA SSI. The current study quantifies the importance of eradication of the MRSA carrier state to prevent MRSA SSI.

Active surveillance screening of MRSA and eradication of the carrier state decreases surgical-site infections caused by MRSA.

Background: Surgical-site infections (SSI), because of MRSA, are a challenge for acute care hospitals. The current study examines the impact of best practices and active surveillance screening for MRSA on reduction of MRSA SSIs.

Study Design: Beginning February 2007, all admissions to a 761-bed tertiary care hospital were screened for MRSA by nasal swab using polymerase chain reaction-based testing.

Necrotizing fasciitis: a complication of percutaneous coronary revascularization.

Percutaneous coronary revascularization is rarely complicated by infection. Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a severe, deep-seated, potentially life-threatening infection of fascia and subcutaneous tissues. We report herein 2 cases of NF in patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary revascularization for treatment of acute coronary syndrome.

Severe human metapneumovirus infection in hospitalized children.

Human metapneumovirus is a recently discovered pathogen that causes upper and lower respiratory tract disease in children. This study describes the course of illness in hospitalized children with this infection. During a 6-month period, 11 children were diagnosed with human metapneumovirus infection by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

Revaccination of healthy nonresponders with hepatitis B vaccine and prediction of seroprotection response.

Sixty healthy nonresponders were randomized to receive intramuscular (IM) high dose hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine versus IM standard dose HBV vaccine plus granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) at 0-2 months. Antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen was measured 1 month after each dose and 3 months after the last dose. Two regimens were equivalent in eliciting seroprotection in nonresponders.

Pasteurella multocida meningitis: case report and review of the last 11 y.

Pasteurella multocida meningitis is a rare clinical occurrence. We report a new case and review the 28 other cases described in the English literature. A history of recent animal contact remains strongly associated with P.