Antibiotic prescribing practices for catheter urine culture results.

Background: The literature suggests that positive results of catheter urine cultures frequently lead to unnecessary antimicrobial prescribing, which therefore represents an important target for stewardship.

Objective: To assess the appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in response to the results of urine cultures from patients with indwelling urinary catheters.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care centre and involved adults with indwelling urinary catheters from whom urine specimens were obtained for culture.

MRSA prevalence in a teaching hospital in Western Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization in our institution.

Methods: A 5-day period prevalence study of all adult and pediatric patients. Excluded areas were the adult intensive care unit (screened on admission and weekly thereafter), the outpatient hemodialysis population (screened monthly), and newborns.

Methicillin-resistant/methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

Objective: To examine the differences between the clinical presentation, management and outcome of persons bacteremic with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), after controlling for age, sex and primary diagnosis.

Methods: A review of the clinical records and laboratory data of all MRSA and MSSA bacteremic patients. Fifty matched case-control pairs were further analyzed looking for differences between the 2 populations.

A prospective randomized trial of endoscopic versus conventional harvesting of the saphenous vein in coronary artery bypass surgery.

Objectives: Our objectives were (1) to determine whether minimally invasive endoscopic harvesting of the saphenous vein reduces morbidity due to postoperative wound infection and pain with improved cosmetic results and mobilization as compared with the conventional technique and (2) to compare the histologic properties of the saphenous veins harvested conventionally and endoscopically.

Methods: One hundred forty-four patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting were randomized to have vein harvesting performed by either the conventional (n = 72) or an endoscopic (n = 72) minimally invasive technique.

Results: Vein harvest time (open leg wound time) was significantly reduced in the endoscopic group (27.