Improving paediatric antimicrobial stewardship in hospital-based settings: why, where and how?

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is being recognized as a priority by healthcare organizations across the world. However, many children are managed on IV antimicrobials in hospital with very little consideration of antimicrobial stewardship issues.

Objectives: A nurse-led paediatric ambulatory outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) service, managing children with common infections being ambulated on short courses of IV antimicrobials, was introduced within Southampton Children's Hospital in January 2018.

Substrate-mediated stabilization of a tetrameric drug target reveals Achilles heel in anthrax.

Bacillus anthracis is a gram-positive spore-forming bacterium that causes anthrax. With the increased threat of anthrax in biowarfare, there is an urgent need to characterize new antimicrobial targets from B. anthracis.

Expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of dihydrodipicolinate synthase from Bacillus anthracis in the presence of pyruvate.

Dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS) catalyses the first committed step in the lysine-biosynthesis pathway in bacteria, plants and some fungi. In this study, the expression of DHDPS from Bacillus anthracis (Ba-DHDPS) and the purification of the recombinant enzyme in the absence and presence of the substrate pyruvate are described. It is shown that DHDPS from B.

Evaluation of electronic discharge summaries: a comparison of documentation in electronic and handwritten discharge summaries.

Background: Hospital discharge summaries have traditionally been paper-based (handwritten or dictated), and deficiencies have often been reported. On the increase is the utilisation of electronic summaries, which are considered of higher quality than paper-based summaries. However, comparisons between electronic and paper-based summaries regarding documentation deficiencies have rarely been made and there have been none in recent years.

Are general practitioners satisfied with electronic discharge summaries?

The aim of this study was to assess general practitioners' (GPs') satisfaction with the quality of information in electronic discharge summaries and the timeliness of their receipt of the summaries. The study was conducted in a 75-bed Australian public metropolitan hospital which uses an electronic discharge summary which is mailed to the patients' nominated GP. Eighty-five GPs were surveyed regarding their satisfaction with the content of the electronic discharge summary and the timeliness of receipt.