The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. · Dec 2013
Community-associated Clostridium difficile infection among older people in Tayside, Scotland, is associated with antibiotic exposure and care home residence: cohort study with nested case-control.
To estimate the risks of community-associated Clostridium difficile infection (CA-CDI) among the population aged ≥ 65 years associated with antibiotic exposure and care home residence. ⋯ Our results have two important implications. First, they validate the classification of 4C antibiotics and fluoroquinolones in primary care as high risk for CA-CDI. Second, they demonstrate the importance of prior antibiotic exposure and place of residence for risk assessment by primary care prescribers.
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. · Dec 2013
Spread of multidrug-resistant Enterococcus to animals and humans: an underestimated role for the pig farm environment.
The aim of this study was to discover the potential role of the pig farm environment in the spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Enterococcus strains, including high-risk clones, to animals and humans. ⋯ The pig farm environment has an underestimated potential role in the transmission of MDR Enterococcus to animals and, possibly, to humans. The continuous contact of swine with MDR Enterococcus by different routes (e.g. feed, dust, air and rooms) might decrease the impact of restrictive antibiotic use policies and reinforces the need for different and preliminary interventions at the husbandry management level.
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. · Nov 2013
Antimicrobial stewardship: English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilization and Resistance (ESPAUR).
The clinical, public health and economic implications of antimicrobial resistance present a major threat to future healthcare. Antimicrobial use is a major driver of resistance, and antimicrobial stewardship programmes are increasingly being advocated as a means of improving the quality of prescribing. However, to increase their impact and assess their success, a better understanding of antimicrobial usage, both in primary and secondary care, and linkage with antimicrobial resistance data are required. ⋯ In response to the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance, as highlighted in the Report of the Chief Medical Officer and on the request of the Department of Health, Public Health England has developed a new national programme, the English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilization and Resistance (ESPAUR). The programme will bring together the elements of antimicrobial utilization and resistance surveillance in both primary and secondary care settings, alongside the development of quality measures and methods to monitor unintended outcomes of antimicrobial stewardship and both public and professional behaviour interventions. This article reports on the background to the programme development, the current oversight group membership and the public reporting structure.
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. · Nov 2013
MRSA decolonization of cotton rat nares by a combination treatment comprising lysostaphin and the antimicrobial peptide ranalexin.
To evaluate the in vivo effectiveness of a combination treatment containing ranalexin (a natural antimicrobial peptide) and lysostaphin (an antistaphylococcal endopeptidase) for reducing nasal burden of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). ⋯ Ranalexin/lysostaphin could serve as an alternative to mupirocin for nasal decolonization of MRSA.
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. · Oct 2013
Review Meta AnalysisDuration of antibiotic treatment for acute pyelonephritis and septic urinary tract infection-- 7 days or less versus longer treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Acute pyelonephritis is a frequent cause of morbidity, with a wide variation in duration of therapy. We performed a systematic review of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing ≤7 days treatment with a longer course. ⋯ Seven days of treatment for acute pyelonephritis is equivalent to longer treatment in terms of clinical failure and microbiological failure, including in bacteraemic patients. In patients with urogenital abnormalities, the evidence, although weak, suggests that longer treatment is required.