Galactomannan-guided preemptive vs. empirical antifungals in the persistently febrile neutropenic patient: a prospective randomized study.

Background: Patients with neutropenic fever after 4-7 days of broad-spectrum antibiotics are given antifungals empirically. This strategy may lead to over-treatment.

Methods: Patients with hematological malignancies undergoing intensive chemotherapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation were randomized to two arms.

Attitudes of patients, visitors and healthcare workers at a tertiary hospital towards influenza A (H1N1) response measures.

Introduction: We sought to determine the opinions of patients, their visitors and healthcare workers regarding Influenza A (H1N1) response measures instituted within a tertiary hospital in Singapore.

Materials And Methods: This questionnaire study was undertaken from 21 May 2009 to 31 August 2009.

Results: There were 92 respondents, ranging in age from 15 to 77 years.

Establishment of ST30 as the predominant clonal type among community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates in Singapore.

The number of infections attributable to community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) in Singapore is progressively increasing. Most cases in the past 2 years were caused by Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive isolates belonging to sequence type 30, according to multilocus sequence typing. This has clearly become the predominant sequence type among CA-MRSA isolates in Singapore.