Anti-infective agents

NHS England to choose ‘selected’ number of pharmacies to deliver at least 1,000 COVID-19 vaccines per week

Pharmacies designated as COVID-19 vaccination sites by NHS England will need to administer “at least 1,000 vaccines each week” if they are to become part of the national vaccine delivery programme.…

IV antibiotics no more effective than oral for eradicating infection in cystic fibrosis patients, study suggests

Intravenous antibiotics are not superior to oral antibiotics for eradicating Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients, according to a randomised controlled trial in Lancet Respiratory Medicine.…

Cefiderocol effective for carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative infections

The clinical and microbiological outcomes of cefiderocol, a new antibiotic, were similar to the best available therapy for patients with life-threatening carbapenem-resistant infections, a phase III study has suggested.…

Antivirals have little effect on mortality in patients hospitalised with COVID-19, suggest WHO trial interim results

Four repurposed antiviral treatments for COVID-19 have little or no effect on mortality in patients who are hospitalised, interim results from the World Health Organization’s Solidarity trial have suggested.…

Stuck in the 1950s: why UTI diagnosis badly needs an update

Urinary tract infections are the second most common reason for prescribing an antibiotic and, with antimicrobial stewardship a priority for the government, the stakes for accurate diagnosis are being raised ever higher.…

EMA to investigate possible link between remdesivir and acute kidney injury

The European Medicines Agency’s safety committee is to review reports of acute kidney injury in some patients being given remdesivir for COVID-19.…

Government tightens availability of remdesivir treatment for COVID-19 patients as supplies shrink

Patients with COVID-19 across the UK will now have to meet additional criteria before being prescribed remdesivir as supplies of the drug become limited.…

Would my son have his Lyme disease diagnosis without my mother’s instinct? It’s time we trusted our patients

Pharmacist Arlene Brailey continues to fight for better testing and diagnosis of Lyme disease, after a tick bite left her son chronically ill.…

Case-based learning: impetigo

Pharmacists need to identify and manage impetigo effectively to help prevent its spread. …

Beyond antibiotics: harnessing bacteria’s natural predators

With antibiotic resistance set to cost 10 million lives per year by 2050, there is a renaissance of interest in the potential of bacteriophages to be the next generation of bacteria killers.…