Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Infectious Disease for February 2017. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Strategies Suggested to Protect Practices From Hackers
TUESDAY, Feb. 28, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Steps should be taken to protect medical practices, including small practices, from hackers, according to a report published in Medical Economics.
Physician Burnout Eroding Sense of Calling
TUESDAY, Feb. 28, 2017 (HealthDay News) — For physicians across specialties, burnout is associated with reduced odds of a sense of calling, according to a study published online Feb. 8 in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
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Supreme Court Rules Patient Safety Data Subject to Litigation
MONDAY, Feb. 27, 2017 (HealthDay News) — The Supreme Court of Florida has reversed a District Court of Appeal decision deeming information related to patient safety unprotected from litigation discovery, according to a report published from the American Medical Association.
Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Found in Hospital Sinks
MONDAY, Feb. 27, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria can occur through sinks and other areas where water can pool inside hospitals, according to a study published online Feb. 24 in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
Early Use of Two Asthma Meds Could Prevent Lethal Pneumonia
MONDAY, Feb. 27, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Two medications used to treat asthma and allergies may help prevent a particularly dangerous form of pneumonia caused by influenza A virus (IAV) infection, according to a study published online recently in PLOS Pathogens.
Inhaled Corticosteroids Not Linked to Pneumonia in Children
MONDAY, Feb. 27, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) do not appear to be associated with the risk of pneumonia in children with asthma, according to a review published online Feb. 24 in Pediatrics.
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Rates of Resistant Infections Up in U.S. Children
FRIDAY, Feb. 24, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Antibiotic-resistant Enterobacteriaceae bacterial infections have increased 700 percent in American children since 2007, according to a study published online Feb. 22 in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.
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$20 Million Awarded for Quality Payment Program Training
FRIDAY, Feb. 24, 2017 (HealthDay News) — About $20 million has been awarded to 11 organizations for the first of a five-year program to provide training and education about the Quality Payment Program for clinicians in individual or small group practices, with up to $80 million to be invested over the remaining four years, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Cyberattacks Remain Serious Threat to Health Providers
THURSDAY, Feb. 23, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Cyberattacks remain a serious threat to small providers as well as big institutions, according to a report published in Medical Economics.
Cytomegalovirus May Up Risk of Diabetes, CVD in Some Women
THURSDAY, Feb. 23, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection may make some women more susceptible to both cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, according to research published online Feb. 23 in Obesity.
Zika Virus Found to Cause Testicular Atrophy in Mice
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22, 2017 (HealthDay News) — The Zika virus causes the testes of mice to shrink, according to an experimental study published in the Feb. 22 issue of Science Advances.
Health Information Theft a Pressing Concern for U.S. Patients
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Forty-four percent of U.S. adults are worried about having their personal health care information stolen, according to findings from the Xerox eHealth Survey published Feb. 9 in HIT Consultant.
Nursing Homes Rarely Use Isolation for Drug-Resistant Bugs
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Isolation precautions are infrequently used for nursing home (NH) residents with multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infection, according to a study published online Feb. 17 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
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Oral Ciprofloxacin Effective for Treatment of Human Plague
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Oral ciprofloxacin is effective for the treatment of human plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, according to research published in the March issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infectious Diseases.
HIV Coinfection May Play Role in Survival of Ebola RNA in Semen
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22, 2017 (HealthDay News) — The semen of an Ebola virus disease (EVD) survivor with preexisting HIV still tested positive for Ebola virus RNA long after recovery from the disease, according to a research letter published in the March issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infectious Diseases.
HIV-1 Variants Are Specific for Transmission Route
TUESDAY, Feb. 21, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Specific HIV-1 variants are selected depending on the transmission route, according to a study published online Jan. 26 in Retrovirology.
CMS Rule Set to Stabilize Small Health Insurance Markets
TUESDAY, Feb. 21, 2017 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a rule in relation to new reforms intended to stabilize individual and small group health insurance markets for 2018.
Increase in Foodborne Disease Outbreaks Tied to Imported Food
MONDAY, Feb. 20, 2017 (HealthDay News) — There has been an increase in the number and proportion of foodborne disease outbreaks associated with imported food, according to research published in the March issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infectious Diseases.
D.C. Zika Tests Were Flawed
FRIDAY, Feb. 17, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Two women in Washington, D.C., were incorrectly found to be negative for Zika virus last year due to flawed testing, health officials said Thursday.
Doctors Often Write Rx for Antibiotics If Patients Expect It
FRIDAY, Feb. 17, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Doctors are more likely to prescribe antibiotics if they think patients expect the medications, according to a study published online Feb. 16 in Health Psychology.
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CDC: Influenza Vaccine 48 Percent Effective Overall
FRIDAY, Feb. 17, 2017 (HealthDay News) — This year’s influenza vaccine is a fairly good match for the circulating viruses, according to research published in the Feb. 17 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Vitamin D May Help Reduce Risk of Acute Respiratory Infection
THURSDAY, Feb. 16, 2017 (HealthDay News) — There’s preliminary evidence that adequate amounts of vitamin D might help lower rates of acute respiratory infections, according to a review published online Feb. 15 in The BMJ.
Health Care Spending Expected to Grow 5.6% Annually to 2025
THURSDAY, Feb. 16, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Health care spending is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.6 percent from 2016 to 2025, according to a report published online Feb. 15 in Health Affairs.
Bacteria, Fungi Found in Some Medicinal Marijuana Samples
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 15, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Medical marijuana may carry infectious bacteria and fungi that can pose a life-threatening risk to cancer patients who use it to ease the side effects of chemotherapy, according to a study published online recently in Clinical Microbiology and Infection.
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Smoking, T4 Tumors Up Distant Mets in HPV+ Oropharyngeal CA
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 15, 2017 (HealthDay News) — For patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer, active smokers and those with T4 tumors have increased rates of distant metastases, according to a study published online Feb. 11 in Head & Neck.
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Rise in Unsafe Practices Among Men Who Have Sex With Men
MONDAY, Feb. 13, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Men who have sex with men are much less likely to use condoms now than they were two decades ago, according to research published online Feb. 6 in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.
Reduced Immune Response After Intradermal Flu Shot in Eczema
MONDAY, Feb. 13, 2017 (HealthDay News) — For patients with moderate/severe atopic dermatitis (AD), those colonized with Staphylococcus aureus have a reduced immune response to intradermal influenza vaccination, according to a study published online Feb. 13 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
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Short-Course Tocilizumab May Up Hep B Reactivation in RA
MONDAY, Feb. 13, 2017 (HealthDay News) — For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one to three doses of tocilizumab may increase the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation, according to a study published online Feb. 3 in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases.
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Fecal Transplant Feasible for C. difficile Infection in Pregnancy
THURSDAY, Feb. 9, 2017 (HealthDay News) — A fecal microbiota transplant through colonoscopy appears to be safe for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection during pregnancy, according to a case report published in the March issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
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Post-Cesarean Maternal Infection in 8.8 Percent of C-Sections
THURSDAY, Feb. 9, 2017 (HealthDay News) — For women undergoing cesarean section, 8.8 percent have post-cesarean infection, with pre-incision azithromycin prophylaxis associated with reduced odds of infection, according to research published in the March issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
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Adherence to Bronchiolitis Guidelines Cuts LOS, Costs
THURSDAY, Feb. 9, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Adherence to bronchiolitis clinical pathway recommendations is associated with reduced length of stay (LOS) and costs, according to a study published online Feb. 9 in Pediatrics.
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Infection Risk Lower for Etanercept Vs Monoclonal Ab Rx
THURSDAY, Feb. 9, 2017 (HealthDay News) — For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, etanercept is associated with lower risk for general infections and tuberculosis compared with monoclonal antibody treatment, according to a meta-analysis published online Feb. 3 in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases.
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Valproic Acid Plasma Levels Down With Concomitant Meropenem
THURSDAY, Feb. 9, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Concomitant use of valproic acid (VPA) and meropenem (MEPM) is associated with a decrease in VPA plasma levels, according to a study published online Feb. 1 in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics.
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Evaluation of Sepsis Varies Across Newborn Nurseries
THURSDAY, Feb. 9, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Considerable variation is seen in risk assessment for newborn early onset sepsis (EOS), according to a study published online Feb. 8 in Pediatrics.
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CDC Issues Updated Immunization Schedule
TUESDAY, Feb. 7, 2017 (HealthDay News) — A new adult vaccine schedule from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has been published online Feb. 7 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
30-day Mortality Down With Vancomycin in C. difficile
TUESDAY, Feb. 7, 2017 (HealthDay News) — For patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), recurrence rates are similar with vancomycin and metronidazole treatment, but the risk of 30-day mortality is significantly reduced with vancomycin, according to a study published online Feb. 6 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
AAP: Improvement Needed in Adolescent Vaccination Rates
TUESDAY, Feb. 7, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Adolescent rates of vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) and influenza are well below the target of 80 percent or higher, according to two American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reports published online Feb. 6 in Pediatrics.
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Bundle of Items Can Reduce SSI Rate in Colon Surgery
TUESDAY, Feb. 7, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Implementation of a bundle of five items can reduce the surgical site infection (SSI) rate in colon surgery, according to a study published online Feb. 1 in the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice.
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Mortality Down for U.S. Patients Treated by International Doctors
MONDAY, Feb. 6, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Mortality rates are lower for older Americans treated by doctors trained in other countries than by those who went to a U.S. medical school, according to research published online Feb. 3 in The BMJ.
Microvascular Complications Linked to Severity of Periodontitis
MONDAY, Feb. 6, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Microvascular complications and poor glycemic control are associated with the severity of periodontitis, according to a study published online Jan. 27 in the Journal of Diabetes Investigation.
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CDC: HIV Still Undertreated in U.S. Black Population
FRIDAY, Feb. 3, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Although progress has been made, blacks in America are still disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, according to research published in the Feb. 3 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
CDC: 2.5 Million U.S. Women Have Had Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
FRIDAY, Feb. 3, 2017 (HealthDay News) — About 2.5 million American women have had pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), according to research published in the Jan. 27 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Zoster Ups Stroke Risk in Patients With Autoimmune Disease
FRIDAY, Feb. 3, 2017 (HealthDay News) — For patients with autoimmune diseases, the risk of stroke is increased in the few months subsequent to incident herpes zoster (HZ), according to a study published online Jan. 28 in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
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Patient Infected With HIV Despite Long-Term Adherence to PrEP
THURSDAY, Feb. 2, 2017 (HealthDay News) — In a letter to the editor published in the Feb. 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, authors present the case of a Canadian man infected with HIV despite long-term adherence to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
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