Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Infectious Disease for October 2015. 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.
Synchronized Prescription Renewal Process Saves Time
FRIDAY, Oct. 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A synchronized prescription renewal process can save physicians time and money, which can be dedicated to patient care, according to a report from the American Medical Association (AMA).
Increasing Numbers of Med School Applicants, Enrollees
FRIDAY, Oct. 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) — There has been a 25 percent increase in the number of medical school enrollees since 2002, with the number reaching an all-time high of 20,630 this year, according to a report published online Oct. 22 by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
Flu Vaccine Slightly Less Effective in Patients on Statins
THURSDAY, Oct. 29, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Two new studies raise the possibility that statins may blunt the effectiveness of flu vaccines in seniors. The research is published online Oct. 28 in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
CDC: Not Enough Young Girls Getting HPV Vaccination
THURSDAY, Oct. 29, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates among American girls remain too low, according to research published in the Oct. 30 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Fatal Case of Hidradenitis Suppurativa Described
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 28, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) can be associated with infectious and/or neoplastic fatal complications, according to a case report published online Oct. 16 in the International Journal of Dermatology.
Nearly 15 Percent of Plans Lack In-Network Specialists
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 28, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A considerable proportion of federal marketplace plans lack at least one in-network specialist, according to a research letter published in the Oct. 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Physician Emphasizes Importance of Saying Thank You
TUESDAY, Oct. 27, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The importance of thanking patients for coming to see you, the physician, is described in an essay published online in Medical Economics.
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Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapies Beneficial in HCV-MCS
TUESDAY, Oct. 27, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies are associated with high sustained virologic response rates in hepatitis C virus-associated mixed cryoglobulinemia syndrome (HCV-MCS), according to a study published online Oct. 17 in Hepatology.
CDC: Too Few Male Adolescents Receiving HPV Vaccine
MONDAY, Oct. 26, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Most male adolescents in the United States aren’t receiving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine alongside their other scheduled inoculations, largely because doctors fail to recommend it or adequately explain its benefits to parents, according to a report published online Oct. 26 in Pediatrics.
MenB Vaccine Recommended for 16- to 23-Year-Olds
MONDAY, Oct. 26, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) vaccination is recommended for adolescents and young adults aged 16 to 23 years to provide short-term protection from most strains of serogroup B meningococcal disease, according to a report published in the Oct. 23 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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AMA: Eight Reasons for Nonadherence to Medications
FRIDAY, Oct. 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Eight reasons associated with patient’s intentional nonadherence to medications have been identified in a report published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
RTS,S Malaria Vaccine More Active Against Matched Infections
FRIDAY, Oct. 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Among children aged 5 to 17 months, the RTS,S vaccine has greater activity against malaria parasites with matched circumsporozoite protein alleles, according to a study published online Oct. 21 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Childhood Antibiotics Rx Tied to Weight Gain Through Adolescence
FRIDAY, Oct. 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Repeated antibiotic use is linked to greater weight gains in children, and it could affect their weight for the rest of their lives, a new study suggests. The findings were published online Oct. 21 in the International Journal of Obesity.
Many Doctors Inconsistent With HPV Vaccine Recommendations
THURSDAY, Oct. 22, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Many physicians are inconsistent or behind schedule in their recommendations for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, according to a study published online Oct. 22 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Tdap Appears Safe in Pregnancy Even With Recent Tetanus Shot
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 21, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Even if a woman gets a tetanus-containing shot before she conceives, it is still safe to give her the tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine while she is pregnant, new research indicates. The study was published in the Oct. 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Low Hep B Vaccine Response Rate Linked to IBD Treatment
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 21, 2015 (HealthDay News) — For patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), infliximab and/or azathioprine treatment is associated with poor response rate to hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination, according to a study published in the November issue of the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Outpatient Spending Higher With Physician-Hospital Integration
TUESDAY, Oct. 20, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Markets with greater increases in physician-hospital integration show greater increases in spending for outpatient care, but not inpatient care, for a large commercially insured population, according to a study published online Oct. 19 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Methicillin-Susceptible Staph Strain Causes More Infections
MONDAY, Oct. 19, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Invasive methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infections are more common than invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, according to a study published online Oct. 19 in JAMA Pediatrics.
Gene Expression Ratio May Aid Rapid Pneumonia Diagnosis
MONDAY, Oct. 15, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A ratio evaluating the expression of two molecular markers may assist in the rapid diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) on ICU admission, according to a study published in the Oct. 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Rising Threat of Antibiotic Resistance in Surgery, Chemo
FRIDAY, Oct. 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) — As many as half of postsurgical infections and more than a quarter of infections after chemotherapy are caused by organisms already resistant to standard antibiotics, according to a study published Oct. 15 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Review: Maternal Flu Shot Doesn’t Up Congenital Anomalies
FRIDAY, Oct. 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Maternal influenza vaccination is not associated with increased risk of congenital anomalies, according to a review published online Oct. 7 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Influenza Vaccine Linked to Reduced Stroke Incidence
FRIDAY, Oct. 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Influenza vaccination is associated with reduced stroke incidence, according to a study published Oct. 5 in Vaccine.
Community-Based Intervention Ups HIV Testing in Pregnancy
THURSDAY, Oct. 15, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A community-based intervention that includes health education and on-site laboratory testing can increase uptake of HIV testing in pregnant women in southeast Nigeria, according to a study published online Oct. 14 in the The Lancet Global Health.
Ebola Virus Can Persist in Semen of Survivors
THURSDAY, Oct. 15, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Ebola virus can persist in semen, according to two reports published online Oct. 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Enterovirus D68 Doesn’t Raise Mortality Risk in Children
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) seems to be a more virulent pulmonary pathogen in children than rhinovirus or non-EV-D68 enterovirus, but it does not increase the risk of death, according to a study published Oct. 13 in CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.
Coadministering Tdap, Flu Vaccines Safe in Pregnancy
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Coadministering tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) and influenza vaccines appears safe in pregnancy, according to a study published online Oct. 5 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
HAART Tied to Lower HBV Rate in Men Who Have Sex With Men
TUESDAY, Oct. 13, 2015 (HealthDay News) — For men who have sex with men (MSM), highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is associated with lower incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV), according to a study published online Oct. 13 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Intervention Cuts Contamination in Protective Gear Removal
TUESDAY, Oct. 13, 2015 (HealthDay News) — An educational intervention can reduce contamination of the skin and clothing of health care personnel during removal of contaminated personal protective equipment (PPE), according to a study published online Oct. 12 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Americans Spend More on Health Care, but Fare Worse
MONDAY, Oct. 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) — When compared to 12 other industrialized nations, Americans spend more on health care services, but they fare worst in terms of life expectancy, according to recent findings from The Commonwealth Fund.
Ebola Survivor’s Case Points to Delayed Complications
FRIDAY, Oct. 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A British nurse who survived Ebola has been hospitalized due to a delayed complication from her infection, health officials say.
Health Highlights: Oct. 9, 2015
CDC: Four Deaths Linked to Latest Salmonella Outbreak
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A Salmonella outbreak that has been linked to contaminated cucumbers imported from Mexico has now caused 732 illnesses in 35 states, U.S. health officials said Tuesday.
H. Pylori Resistance to Antibiotics Increasing
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Resistance to the antibiotics clarithromycin, metronidazole, and levofloxacin is high among patients with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, according to a study published in the September issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
As HIV Patients Live Longer, Certain Cancer Risks Rise
TUESDAY, Oct. 6, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Antiretroviral therapy has extended the lives of people with HIV, but living longer may increase these patients’ risk for certain cancers, according to a study published in the Oct. 6 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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CDC Warns of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae
TUESDAY, Oct. 6, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Surveillance of seven U.S. metropolitan areas found higher-than-expected levels of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in Atlanta, Baltimore, and New York City, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published online Oct. 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Guidelines Developed for Managing Conflicts of Interest
TUESDAY, Oct. 6, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The Guidelines International Network has developed principles for disclosure and management of conflicts of interest (COIs) during the clinical practice guideline development process, according to a report published in the Oct. 6 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Flu Vaccine Benefits Extend to Fewer Pneumonia Admissions
MONDAY, Oct. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Influenza vaccination can substantially reduce the risk of hospitalizations for influenza pneumonia, according to research published online Oct. 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
FDA Orders Studies on Contaminated Duodenoscopes
MONDAY, Oct. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Recent outbreaks of infections linked to duodenoscopes led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday to order manufacturers to conduct postmarket studies of the devices in health care facilities.
Reduced-Dose Tacrolimus, Everolimus Cuts CMV Infection
MONDAY, Oct. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The incidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection/disease is reduced in de novo kidney transplant recipients receiving reduced dose tacrolimus and everolimus, according to a study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Transplantation.
Modified SOAP Ups Student Awareness of Health Care Costs
MONDAY, Oct. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Modification of the traditional Subjective-Objective-Assessment-Plan (SOAP) presentation to consider value (SOAP-V) can help medical students learn to practice high-value, cost-conscious care, according to a study published online Sept. 28 in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
Providers Must Understand Legal Limits of Telemedicine
FRIDAY, Oct. 2, 2015 (HealthDay News) — In order to minimize risk when practicing telemedicine, providers should ensure they hold the proper medical licenses, have medical liability insurance coverage, and communicate with patients regarding the potential risks of telemedicine, according to a report published in Medical Economics.
Strategies Provided for Improving EHR Efficiency
THURSDAY, Oct. 1, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Several strategies can be implemented in order to better use electronic health records (EHRs) for patient care and efficiency, according to an article published in Medical Economics.
Probiotics Reduce Rate of Infection After Liver Transplant
THURSDAY, Oct. 1, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Liver transplant recipients have a lower rate of infection with receipt of prebiotics and probiotics before surgery, according to a meta-analysis published in the September issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
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