Publications by authors named "R Bestwick"

Background: Removing inaccurate penicillin allergy labels (PALs) can reduce unnecessary exposure to 'watch' and 'reserve' groups of antibiotics and thereby reduce antimicrobial resistance. The most efficient model for a non-allergy-specialist-led penicillin allergy de-labelling (PADL) service has not been established.

Objective: To determine the costs to the UK National Health Service of a direct oral penicillin challenge (DPC) for low-risk patients with a PAL in three hospitals in England, each with a different non-allergy-specialist delivery model: pharmacist-led, nurse-led, and mixed multidisciplinary.

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Article Synopsis
  • - A study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of using procalcitonin (PCT) testing to guide antibiotic decisions for COVID-19 patients in UK hospitals during the pandemic.
  • - Data from 11 NHS hospitals showed those tested with PCT had shorter hospital stays, reduced antibiotic use, and better quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) compared to those who were not tested.
  • - Results suggest that PCT testing is likely to be cost-effective for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, although there is some uncertainty regarding these findings.
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Peptide-conjugated phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (P-PMO) are single-stranded nucleic acid-like antisense agents that can reduce gene expression by sterically blocking complementary RNA sequence. P-PMO are water soluble and nuclease resistant, and they readily achieve uptake into cells in culture under standard conditions. Eight P-PMO, each 20 to 22 bases in length, were evaluated for their ability to inhibit influenza A virus (FLUAV) A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) replication in cell culture.

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The recently emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a potent pathogen of humans and is capable of rapid global spread. Peptide-conjugated antisense morpholino oligomers (P-PMO) were designed to bind by base pairing to specific sequences in the SARS-CoV (Tor2 strain) genome. The P-PMO were tested for their capacity to inhibit production of infectious virus as well as to probe the function of conserved viral RNA motifs and secondary structures.

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