pneumonia requiring pneumonectomy in a post-renal transplant patient.

is a rare fungus that can cause fatal infections in patients who are immunocompromised. This case describes a 55-year-old post-renal transplant patient undergoing active treatment for multiple myeloma who presented to the emergency room with complaints of cough and dyspnea. She was found to have a cavitary lesion in the left upper lobe of her lung, and direct sampling via bronchoscopy revealed an invasive fungal infection with an species.

endocarditis in an immunocompetent host.

This case describes an 83-year-old immunocompetent woman who presented to the emergency department with complaints of nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. She was found to have evidence of embolic stroke secondary to endocarditis. This case emphasizes the challenge of diagnosing fungal endocarditis, as it can be difficult to culture, and the importance of broad differentials even in patients with no obvious risk factors.

Varicella-zoster virus causing a ring-like cerebral lesion in AIDS.

We report a 50-year-old man with a possible stroke 3 months earlier, recurrent shingles outbreaks, and male-who-has-sex-with-men status who presented to the emergency department with worsening confusion, lower-extremity weakness, gait imbalance, and incontinence. Given his clinically immunocompromised state, the patient was started on intravenous acyclovir. A human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test returned positive, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed a ring-enhancing lesion, and lumbar puncture was positive for varicella-zoster virus.

Contact precautions: more is not necessarily better.

Objective: To determine whether increases in contact isolation precautions are associated with decreased adherence to isolation practices among healthcare workers (HCWs).

Design: Prospective cohort study from February 2009 to October 2009.

Setting: Eleven teaching hospitals.

Pharmacokinetics and monte carlo simulations of doripenem in patients with febrile neutropenia.

Background: Doripenem is a group 2 carbapenem with enhanced in vitro activity against gram-negative bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa. There is a paucity of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic data on doripenem in patients with febrile neutropenia.

Objective: To conduct a pharmacokinetic evaluation of 2 doses of doripenem in patients with febrile neutropenia and provide probability estimates of attaining effective drug exposure against common gram-negative pathogens.

Streptococcus intermedius causing infective endocarditis and abscesses: a report of three cases and review of the literature.

Background: Streptococcus intermedius is a member of the Streptococcus anginosus group. Clinical disease with S. intermedius is characterized by abscess formation and rarely endocarditis.