Publications by authors named "Lizhao Ge"
Inside the Mind of the DMC: A Review of Principles and Issues with Case Studies.
Ther Innov Regul Sci
March 2025
A data monitoring committee (DMC) can have an extremely challenging job. Stop a trial too soon, and results are inconclusive and the trial fails to obtain answers to important questions that could inform future clinical practice. Stop a trial too late, and trial participants are exposed to potentially harmful or ineffective interventions longer than necessary.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Use of anti-carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (anti-CRE) agents such as ceftazidime/avibactam has been associated with improved clinical outcome in cohorts that primarily include patients infected with CRE that are resistant to meropenem (MCRE).
Objectives: To clarify whether patients with CRE resistant to ertapenem but susceptible to meropenem (ertapenem-only-resistant Enterobacterales; EORE) benefit from therapy with anti-CRE agents.
Methods: Patients treated for CRE infection in hospitals in the USA between 2016 and 2019 and enrolled in the CRACKLE-2 study were included.
Research data sharing has become an expected component of scientific research and scholarly publishing practice over the last few decades, due in part to requirements for federally funded research. As part of a larger effort to better understand the workflows and costs of public access to research data, this project conducted a high-level analysis of where academic research data is most frequently shared. To do this, we leveraged the DataCite and Crossref application programming interfaces (APIs) in search of Publisher field elements demonstrating which data repositories were utilized by researchers from six academic research institutions between 2012-2022.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRapid detection of carbapenemase (KPC) in the species is desirable. The MALDI Biotyper MBT Subtyping Module (Bruker Daltonics) uses an algorithm that detects a peak at ~11,109 m/z corresponding to a protein encoded by the gene to detect KPC simultaneously with organism identification by a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF MS). Here, the subtyping module was evaluated using 795 clinical isolates, with whole genome sequences used to assess for and .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAb) is a major concern in antimicrobial resistance, with a study conducted on 842 hospitalized patients from 46 hospitals across five regions to assess its clinical impact and epidemiology between 2017 and 2019.
- The study found that 64% of the cases were infections, with a 30-day mortality rate of 24% among infected patients, highlighting notable regional differences in mortality rates.
- Additionally, both bloodstream infections and higher comorbidity were linked to increased mortality, while the dominant clonal group (CG2) was prevalent but non-CG2 strains resulted in higher death rates despite lower resistance to treatment.
Article Synopsis
- Carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli (CP-Ec) pose a significant global health threat, and this study analyzed the clinical and molecular characteristics of patients with CP-Ec from 26 hospitals in 6 different countries.
- Out of 114 CP-Ec isolates studied, 49 contained metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs), predominantly found in China, with MBL-Ec generally showing less severe illness compared to non-MBL counterparts.
- The study found that non-MBL-Ec had a significantly higher mortality rate at both 30 and 90 days, and differences in clinical outcomes were noted based on geographic regions.
Background: Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) is a global threat, but the distribution and clinical significance of carbapenemases are unclear. The aim of this study was to define characteristics and outcomes of CRPA infections and the global frequency and clinical impact of carbapenemases harboured by CRPA.
Methods: We conducted an observational, prospective cohort study of CRPA isolated from bloodstream, respiratory, urine, or wound cultures of patients at 44 hospitals (10 countries) between Dec 1, 2018, and Nov 30, 2019.
Article Synopsis
- Ceftriaxone-resistant bloodstream infections (CRO-R BSIs) are increasingly common and associated with worse patient outcomes compared to ceftriaxone-susceptible (CRO-S) infections, as observed in a study involving 14 U.S. hospitals.
- The study analyzed outcomes from November 2020 to April 2021, focusing on differences in clinical indicators such as time to treatment and severity scores between CRO-R and CRO-S patients, using advanced statistical methods to ensure reliable results.
- While initial findings showed a 58% higher probability of worse outcomes in CRO-R patients, subsequent adjustments accounted for confounding factors and indicated similar issues in both groups, but patients with CRO-R still had longer hospital stays and a