Understanding the relationship between patient characteristics and complication in veterans discharged on parenteral antibiotic therapy.

Background: Many facilities utilize outpatient parenteral intravenous (IV) antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) to reduce cost, length of stay, and risk of nosocomial infections.

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze patient demographics, substance use, mental and physical health diagnoses, and social determinants of health to seek relationships with complications for veterans discharged from the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center (ZVAMC) on OPAT.

Methods: This study was a retrospective chart review of veterans who completed OPAT between the years of 2013 and 2017 at the ZVAMC in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The effects of beta-lactam allergy relabeling on antibiotic prescribing practices.

Background: Beta-lactam antibiotic allergy labels are highly prevalent but rarely indicate an allergic intolerance. These patient-reported allergies lead to broad-spectrum antibiotic use, conferred resistance, increased expense, and adverse effects.

Objective: To implement and assess the impact of a history-based clinical guideline that directs antibiotic management and beta-lactam allergy relabeling for patients reporting beta-lactam allergies.

Persistence of DNA in a Kidney-Liver Transplant Recipient.

Mitochondrial genome analysis of suggests that diversity of intermediate host snails drove intra-species divergence during its expansion in Asia. We applied the knowledge of this genomic variation to study an unusual patient we recently diagnosed with schistosomiasis. The patient had not visited any schistosomiasis-endemic countries for more than 35 years and had no idea where she became infected.

Short Communication: Relationship Between Contraindicated Drug-Drug Interactions and Subsequent Hospitalizations Among Patients Living with HIV Initiating Combination Antiretroviral Therapy.

Persons living with HIV (PLWH) are at an increased risk of contraindicated drug-drug interactions (XDDIs), which may result in deleterious outcomes. Study objectives were to (1) compare the frequency of hospitalizations between patients with and without XDDIs and (2) determine if XDDIs are independently associated with hospitalizations in PLWH. A retrospective cohort study was performed among PLWH receiving care at the Upstate New York Veterans' Healthcare Administration or University of New Mexico Truman Health Services from 2000 to 2013.

Comparing the Frequencies of Contraindicated Drug-Drug Interactions Between Differing Antiretroviral Regimens in HIV-Infected Patients.

Background: HIV-infected patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) are at risk for contraindicated drug-drug interactions (XDDIs).

Objective: This study compared the frequency of XDDIs between different types of ART regimens.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed among adult HIV-infected patients receiving care at either the Upstate New York Veterans' Healthcare Administration or the University of New Mexico Truman Health Services between 2000 and 2013.

Virus reactivation: a panoramic view in human infections.

Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites, relying to a major extent on the host cell for replication. An active replication of the viral genome results in a lytic infection characterized by the release of new progeny virus particles, often upon the lysis of the host cell. Another mode of virus infection is the latent phase, where the virus is 'quiescent' (a state in which the virus is not replicating).