Informing estimates of probability of infection for testing and treatment: expert consensus from a modified-Delphi procedure.

Background: infection (CDI) may be misdiagnosed if testing is performed in the absence of signs or symptoms of disease. This study sought to support appropriate testing by estimating the impact of signs, symptoms, and healthcare exposures on pre-test likelihood of CDI.

Methods: A panel of fifteen experts in infectious diseases participated in a modified UCLA/RAND Delphi study to estimate likelihood of CDI.

Eliciting Clinician Perspectives on Asymptomatic Bacteriuria to Identify Targets for Antimicrobial Stewardship Education and Decision Support.

Background: The aim of this study was to elicit clinicians' perspectives to help reduce antibiotic prescribing for asymptomatic bacteriuria and improve a patient-centered educational brochure for older adults with urinary tract infections or asymptomatic bacteriuria.

Methods: Between October 2023 and April 2024, we conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews of clinicians who treat patients aged ≥65 years for urinary tract infections or bacteria in the urine, at infectious disease clinics, community senior living facilities, memory care clinics, and general practice. We developed an interview guide based on a behavior change framework and thematically analyzed written transcripts of audio-recorded interviews using inductive and deductive coding techniques.

Evaluation of patients labeled with a penicillin allergy to promote antimicrobial stewardship in dental practice.

Background: Approximately 10% of the US population self-reports a penicillin allergy history or are labeled as penicillin allergic. However, from 90% through 99% of these patients are not allergic on formal evaluation.

Case Description: Patients labeled as penicillin allergic receive broader-spectrum and sometimes less-effective antibiotics, thereby contributing to increased treatment failures, antibiotic resistance, and adverse drug reactions.

Late-onset prosthetic aortic valve stenosis caused by pannus formation.

Unlabelled: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a less invasive alternative to an open surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) for treating severe symptomatic aortic stenosis. Despite gaining widespread acceptance and approval for use in patients with high, moderate, and low surgical risk, the increasing use of TAVR has raised concerns about potential short- and long-term complications. We present the case of a 69-year-old female who underwent TAVR and subsequently presented to our outpatient cardiology clinic with progressively worsening dyspnea, orthopnea, and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea two years after the procedure.

Drug preparation, injection-related infections, and harm reduction practices among a national sample of individuals entering treatment for opioid use disorder.

Background: The rise in injection drug use in the USA has led to an increase in injection site infections. We performed a national survey of people who use drugs to evaluate common drug use preparation, harm reduction practices, and experiences with injection site infections.

Methods: A survey was disseminated to members of the Survey of Key Informants' Patients Program from 2021 to 2022 and distributed to patients 18 years or older newly entering one of 68 substance use disorder treatment programs across the USA with a primary diagnosis of an opioid use disorder.

Review article: Efficacy of prophylactic ondansetron versus placebo or control in reducing vomiting in children undergoing ketamine procedural sedation in the emergency department: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ketamine is commonly used for procedural sedation anaesthesia in paediatric patients undergoing painful procedures in the ED. Ketamine's safety profile is excellent, but ketamine-associated vomiting (KAV) is common. Routine ondansetron prophylaxis could reduce KAV incidence.

Older adults' and caregivers' perceptions about urinary tract infection and asymptomatic bacteriuria guidelines: a qualitative exploration.

Objective: To explore older adults' and caregivers' knowledge and perceptions of guidelines for appropriate antibiotics use for bacteria in the urine.

Design: Semi-structured qualitative interviews.

Setting: Infectious disease clinics, community senior living facilities, memory care clinics, and general public.

Mixed methods evaluation of handshake antimicrobial stewardship on adult inpatient medicine floors.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of handshake antimicrobial stewardship on medicine floors at a large tertiary care hospital.

Design: Retrospective observational study.

Setting: 1,278-bed academic hospital.

Hepatitis C and obstetrical morbidity in a substance use disorder clinic: a role for telemedicine?

Background: Hepatitis C infection often co-occurs with substance use disorders in pregnancy. Accessing hepatitis C treatment is challenging because of loss to follow-up in the postpartum period, attributable to social and financial barriers to care. Telemedicine has been explored as a means of increasing routine postpartum care, but the potential impact on retention in and completion of care for postpartum hepatitis C has not been assessed.

Harm Reduction: A Missing Piece to the Holistic Care of Patients Who Inject Drugs.

Background: The rise in injection drug use (IDU) has led to an increase in drug-related infections. Harm reduction is an important strategy for preventing infections among people who inject drugs (PWID). We attempted to evaluate the harm reduction counseling that infectious diseases physicians provide to PWID presenting with infections.

How decisions are made: Antibiotic stewardship in dentistry.

Background: We performed a preimplementation assessment of workflows, resources, needs, and antibiotic prescribing practices of trainees and practicing dentists to inform the development of an antibiotic-stewardship clinical decision-support tool (CDST) for dentists.

Methods: We used a technology implementation framework to conduct the preimplementation assessment via surveys and focus groups of students, residents, and faculty members. Using Likert scales, the survey assessed baseline knowledge and confidence in dental providers' antibiotic prescribing.

Personal protective equipment use among dental healthcare personnel during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the impact of an educational video in clinical practice.

Objective: Dental healthcare personnel (DHCP) are at high risk of exposure to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We sought to identify how DHCP changed their use of personal protective equipment (PPE) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to pilot an educational video designed to improve knowledge of proper PPE use.

Design: The study comprised 2 sets of semistructured qualitative interviews.

d-Mannose for Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection Prevention in Postmenopausal Women Using Vaginal Estrogen: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Importance: Further research is needed to determine whether d-mannose plus vaginal estrogen therapy (VET) is beneficial over VET alone for recurrent urinary tract infection (rUTI) prevention.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate d-mannose efficacy for rUTI prevention in postmenopausal women using VET.

Study Design: We conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing d-mannose (2 g/d) with control.

A Rare Case of ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction and Left Ventricular Thrombus in a Dextrocardia Patient With COVID-19 Infection.

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is an increasingly common finding among patients presenting with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. While cardiovascular disease alone remains one of the most common causes of death among COVID-19 patients in the United States, its heightened prevalence with COVID-19 pneumonia has been well documented. Here we present the case of a 58-year-old male with an extensive cardiac history including coronary artery disease (CAD) with multiple drug-eluting stents (DES) placed and an episode of cardiac arrest requiring implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) placement.

Assessment of Infectious Diseases Risks From Dental Aerosols in Real-World Settings.

Background: Infectious diseases physicians are leaders in assessing the health risks in a variety of community settings. An understudied area with substantial controversy is the safety of dental aerosols. Previous studies have used in vitro experimental designs and/or indirect measures to evaluate bacteria and viruses from dental surfaces.

Assessment of dental health care personnel protocol deviations and self-contamination during personal protective equipment donning and doffing.

Background: Dental health care personnel (DHCP) may be at increased risk of exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as other clinically important pathogens. Proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) reduces occupational exposure to pathogens. The authors performed an assessment of PPE donning and doffing practices among DHCP, using a fluorescent marker as a surrogate for pathogen transmission.

Outcomes of Partial Oral Antibiotic Treatment for Complicated Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia in People Who Inject Drugs.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus represents the leading cause of complicated bloodstream infections among persons who inject drugs (PWID). Standard of care (SOC) intravenous (IV) antibiotics result in high rates of treatment success but are not feasible for some PWID. Transition to oral antibiotics may represent an alternative treatment option.