Antibiotic utilization based on primary treatment of pediatric empyema.

Background: Chemical fibrinolysis has been shown to be as effective as surgical debridement for the treatment of pediatric empyema. However, no studies effectively evaluate antibiotic treatment. We evaluated antibiotic utilization among different treatments of pediatric empyema.

Clinical diagnoses and antimicrobials predictive of pediatric antimicrobial stewardship recommendations: a program evaluation.

Background: The number of pediatric antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) is increasing and program evaluation is a key component to improve efficiency and enhance stewardship strategies.

Objective: To determine the antimicrobials and diagnoses most strongly associated with a recommendation provided by a well-established pediatric ASP.

Design And Setting: Retrospective cohort study from March 3, 2008, to March 2, 2013, of all ASP reviews performed at a free-standing pediatric hospital.

Enterovirus d68. A focused review and clinical highlights from the 2014 U.S. Outbreak.

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), a member of the Picornaviridae family, was first identified in 1962 and is part of a group of small, nonenveloped RNA viruses. As a family, these viruses are among the most common causes of disease among humans. However, outbreaks of disease attributable to EV-D68 have been rarely reported in the previous 4 decades.

Infection prevention and control practices in children's hospitals.

We surveyed hospital epidemiologists at 28 Children's Hospital Association member hospitals regarding their infection prevention and control programs. We found substantial variability between children's hospitals in both the structure and the practice of these programs. Research and the development of evidence-based guidelines addressing infection prevention in pediatrics are needed.

Care and treatment of hepatitis C among Aboriginal people in New South Wales, Australia: implications for the implementation of new treatments.

Introduction: Despite Aboriginal Australians being over-represented in populations of people living with hepatitis C (HCV), there is a dearth of research to guide policy and programme development in the area of care and treatment, particularly relating to new HCV treatments.

Method: In-depth interviews were conducted with 39 people identifying as Aboriginal Australians and living with HCV in New South Wales.

Results: Participants' experiences were characterised by a lack of detailed or appropriate information provided at diagnosis, high levels of stigma associated with HCV and low overall knowledge of HCV as reported for themselves and their communities.

Review of Twitter for infectious diseases clinicians: useful or a waste of time?

Twitter is a social networking service that has emerged as a valuable tool for healthcare professionals (HCPs). It is the only platform that allows one to connect, engage, learn, and educate oneself and others in real time on a global scale. HCPs are using social media tools to communicate, educate, and engage with their peers worldwide.

Antimicrobial stewardship programs in freestanding children's hospitals.

Background And Objective: Single-center evaluations of pediatric antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) suggest that ASPs are effective in reducing and improving antibiotic prescribing, but studies are limited. Our objective was to compare antibiotic prescribing rates in a group of pediatric hospitals with formalized ASPs (ASP+) to a group of concurrent control hospitals without formalized stewardship programs (ASP-).

Methods: We evaluated the impact of ASPs on antibiotic prescribing over time measured by days of therapy/1000 patient-days in a group of 31 freestanding children's hospitals (9 ASP+, 22 ASP-).

Design of the standardizing care to improve outcomes in pediatric end stage renal disease collaborative.

The Standardizing Care to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric End Stage Renal Disease (SCOPE) Collaborative is a North American multi-center quality transformation effort whose primary aim is to minimize exit-site infection and peritonitis rates among pediatric chronic peritoneal dialysis patients. The project, developed by the quality improvement faculty and staff at the Children's Hospital Association's Quality Transformation Network (QTN) and content experts in pediatric nephrology and pediatric infectious diseases, is modeled after the QTN's highly successful Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Hematology-Oncology central line-associated blood-stream infection (CLABSI) Collaboratives. Like the Association's other QTN efforts, the SCOPE Collaborative is part of a broader effort to assist pediatric nephrology teams in learning about and using quality improvement methods to develop and implement evidence-based practices.

Investigation of molecular partitioning between non polar oil droplets and aqueous solution using double potential step chronoamperometry.

Double potential step chronoamperometry (DPSC) is demonstrated as a technique for investigating partitioning between a solute in aqueous solution and non-polar oil droplet(s) immobilised at an electrode. Here a species in aqueous solution which does not partition into the oil phase is converted at the electrode surface into another species which either does not or does partition into the oil drop. The first case is investigated experimentally by considering generation of the ionic redox species, FcTMA(2+) from FcTMA(+), while the second case is exemplified by studies of Br2 generation from Br(-).

Prevalence and characteristics of antimicrobial stewardship programs at freestanding children's hospitals in the United States.

Background And Objective: Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are a mechanism to ensure the appropriate use of antimicrobials. The extent to which ASPs are formally implemented in freestanding children's hospitals is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of ASPs in freestanding children's hospitals.