Comparison of Doxycycline or Minocycline to Sulfamethoxazole-Trimethoprim for Treatment of Pneumonia.

Background: is a multidrug-resistant organism with limited antibiotic treatment options. Minocycline and doxycycline may be appropriate, but clinical data are limited.

Objective: To compare tetracyclines (minocycline and doxycycline [TCN]) with standard of care, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (TMP-SMZ), in pneumonia treatment.

The Incidence of Ocular Complications in Candidemic Patients and Implications for the Practice of Routine Eye Exams.

Background: Ocular candidiasis is a known complication of candidemia. Given the poor ocular penetration of echinocandins, there is some concern that the increasing use of echinocandins may portend an increased incidence of ophthalmic complications. We examined the changing trends in antifungal prescribing patterns and the incidence of ophthalmic complications after candidemia.

Comparison of Ceftriaxone and Antipseudomonal β-Lactam Antibiotics Utilized for Potential AmpC β-Lactamase-Producing Organisms.

Induction of antibiotic resistance is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in AmpC β-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae. The use of ceftriaxone is controversial for treatment of these organisms due to concerns for inducible resistance. This study was designed to compare treatment failure rates between ceftriaxone and antipseudomonal β-lactam antibiotics when used as definitive therapy for organisms most commonly associated with chromosomal AmpC β-lactamase production.

Out of Sight-Out of Mind: Impact of Cascade Reporting on Antimicrobial Usage.

Background: There is a paucity of data evaluating the strategy of suppressing broader-spectrum antibiotic susceptibilities on utilization. Cascade reporting (CR) is a strategy of reporting antimicrobial susceptibility test results in which secondary (eg, broader-spectrum, costlier) agents may only be reported if an organism is resistant to primary agents within a particular drug class. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of ceftriaxone-based cascade reporting on utilization of cefepime and clinical outcomes in patients with ceftriaxone-susceptible and clinical cultures.

Variability in telavancin cross-reactivity among vancomycin immunoassays.

Telavancin is a semisynthetic lipoglycopeptide with a dual mechanism of action against Gram-positive pathogens. Two brief reports have suggested potential cross-reactivity of telavancin with the vancomycin particle-enhanced turbidometric immunoassay (PETIA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate several commercially available vancomycin immunoassays (fluorescence polarization [FPIA], enzyme-multiplied immunoassays [EMIT], PETIA, and chemiluminescent immunoassay [CMIA]) for cross-reactivity with telavancin.

Fidaxomicin: a minimally absorbed macrocyclic antibiotic for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infections.

Fidaxomicin was approved for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infections in 2011. It has a novel mechanism of action and narrow spectrum of activity that makes it unique among the currently used therapies for this disease. Phase III clinical studies demonstrated a benefit of fidaxomicin over vancomycin for the outcomes of recurrence and global cure or sustained clinical response.

The influence of FGF2 high molecular weight (HMW) isoforms in the development of cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) consists of multiple protein isoforms (low [LMW] and high molecular weight [HMW]), which are localized to different cellular compartments, indicating unique biological activity. We previously showed that the LMW isoform is important in protecting the heart from myocardial dysfunction associated with ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, but the roles of the HMW isoforms remain unknown. To elucidate the role of HMW isoforms in I/R and cardioprotection, hearts from novel mouse models, in which the murine FGF2 HMWs are knocked out (HMWKO) or the human FGF2 24 kDa HMW isoform is overexpressed (HMW Tg) and their wildtype (Wt) or non-transgenic (NTg) cohorts were subjected to an ex vivo work-performing heart model of I/R.

Peripheral nociception associated with surgical incision elicits remote nonischemic cardioprotection via neurogenic activation of protein kinase C signaling.

Background: Although remote ischemic stimuli have been shown to elicit cardioprotection against ischemia/reperfusion injury, there is little known about the effects of nonischemic stimuli. We previously described a remote cardioprotective effect of nonischemic surgical trauma (abdominal incision) called remote preconditioning of trauma (RPCT). In the present study, we elucidate mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.

Biological functions of the low and high molecular weight protein isoforms of fibroblast growth factor-2 in cardiovascular development and disease.

Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) consists of multiple protein isoforms (low molecular weight, LMW, and high molecular weight, HMW) produced by alternative translation from the Fgf2 gene. These protein isoforms are localized to different cellular compartments, indicating unique biological activity. FGF2 isoforms in the heart have distinct roles in many pathological circumstances in the heart including cardiac hypertrophy, ischemia-reperfusion injury, and atherosclerosis.

Remote preconditioning-endocrine factors in organ protection against ischemic injury.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and developing world. Experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated that a number of interventions including brief periods of ischemia or hypoxia and certain endogenous factors such as opioids, bradykinin, growth factors or pharmacological agents are capable of protecting the heart against post-ischemic contractile dysfunction, arrhythmias and myocardial infarction. This conventional cardioprotection occurs via an autocrine or paracrine action in which these protective factors are released from the heart to act upon itself.

The cardioprotective effect of the low molecular weight isoform of fibroblast growth factor-2: the role of JNK signaling.

Unlabelled: Our laboratory showed that overexpression of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) protected the heart against ischemia-reperfusion injury. FGF2 has different protein isoforms (low [LMW] and high [HMW] molecular weight isoforms) produced from alternative translation start sites. However, which FGF2 isoform(s) mediates this cardioprotection, and which signaling pathway (i.