Bacterial infections

NICE wants patients with suspected sepsis to be treated within an hour

Patients with suspected sepsis must be assessed and treated within one hour by hospital staff if they are deemed to be at high risk of severe illness or death, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the health technology assessment body, has said.…

Salicylic acid exposure might increase risk of Staphylococcus aureus

Animal research suggests that frequent consumption of aspirin could contribute to S. aureus infection.…

Recent C. difficile reduction in England mostly results from antibiotic stewardship

Restricting the prescribing of fluoroquinolone seems to explain the reduced rates of C. difficile infections in England over the past decade, national study shows.…

WHO lists bacteria that need to be targeted for antibiotic development

The World Health Organization has drawn up a list of families of bacteria that pose the greatest risk to human health and which should be targeted by drug companies when developing new antibiotics.…

Clostridium difficile: diagnosis and treatment update

There are around 12,000 cases of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) each year in the UK and during 1999 to 2007, deaths from CDI peaked at around 4,000 per year. This article summarises diagnosis and management, as well as the current therapeutic options for CDI, including faecal microbiota trans…

Shortening antibiotic treatment worsens outcomes in children with ear infection

Researchers found that standard-duration antibiotic treatment for acute otitis media works better than shorter treatments.…

FDA insists on warning labels for OTC chlorhexidine products

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has told manufacturers of over-the-counter antiseptic products that contain chlorhexidine gluconate to add warning labels to their products about the possibility of a serious but rare allergic reaction.…

Adding bezlotoxumab to standard treatment for C. difficile reduces recurrent infection rate

The addition of a new human monoclonal antibody called bezlotoxumab to standard antibiotic treatment for Clostridium difficile infection can reduce the risk of a repeat infection, according to new research.…

Research theory suggests HIV treatment may be increasing syphilis rates

Researchers have raised concerns that antiretroviral drugs given to HIV patients may be increasing susceptibility to syphilis.…

Heartburn drugs linked to higher risk of gastroenteritis

Taking acid suppressing drugs, such as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), is linked with increased risk of developing bacterial gastroenteritis, results from a population-based study show.…