Infectious Diseases Impact on Biomedical Devices and Materials.

Infectious diseases and nosocomial infections may play a significant role in healthcare issues associated with biomedical materials and devices. Many current polymer materials employed are inadequate for resisting microbial growth. The increase in microbial antibiotic resistance is also a factor in problematic biomedical implants.

Successful long-term therapy of mucormycosis with isavuconazole.

We present a case of a 55-year-old poorly controlled diabetic who presented to the hospital with facial pain, ophthalmoplegia, vision changes, and diabetic ketoacidosis and was diagnosed with rhinocerebral mucormycosis due to . He was started on liposomal amphotericin B and micafungin and went for nasal endoscopy and debridement, but the infection had progressed through the base of the skull and he received the maximum tolerated debridement. Posaconazole was added and discontinued due to elevated liver chemistry tests and was replaced with oral isavuconazole.

Influenza A-induced rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure following a deep tissue massage.

We describe a unique case of severe influenza A-induced rhabdomyolysis in a previously healthy 39-year-old man, who developed symptoms immediately following a 2-hour deep-tissue massage and improved with oseltamivir and intravenous fluids. This case describes a possible temporal association between tissue damage secondary to deep tissue massage and the subsequent exacerbation of rhabdomyolysis in the setting of an influenza A infection. Biological evidence of muscle cell viral invasion with massage supports the possibility of elevated influenza A pathogenicity.

Early trends for SARS-CoV-2 infection in central and north Texas and impact on other circulating respiratory viruses.

Rapid diagnosis and isolation are key to containing the quick spread of a pandemic agent like severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has spread globally since its initial outbreak in Wuhan province in China. SARS-CoV-2 is novel and the effect on typically prevalent seasonal viruses is just becoming apparent. We present our initial data on the prevalence of respiratory viruses in the month of March 2020.

Impact of Reappraisal of Fluoroquinolone Minimum Inhibitory Concentration Susceptibility Breakpoints in Gram-Negative Bloodstream Isolates.

The Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute lowered the fluoroquinolone minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) susceptibility breakpoints for and glucose non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli in January 2019. This retrospective cohort study describes the impact of this reappraisal on ciprofloxacin susceptibility overall and in patients with risk factors for antimicrobial resistance. Gram-negative bloodstream isolates collected from hospitalized adults at Prisma Health-Midlands hospitals in South Carolina, USA, from January 2010 to December 2014 were included.