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Update in Infectious Diseases
2006 Series: Update Sessions from ACP's 2006 Annual Session
This Update in Infectious Diseases focuses on 3 main topics: emerging and reemerging infections, public health and preventive medicine, and therapeutics. In the area of emerging and reemerging infections, important papers in 2005 shed new light on disease caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, respiratory syncytial virus, Clostridium difficile–associated diarrhea, and influenza. There were new findings in the area of public health and preventive medicine regarding the treatment of recurrent sexually transmitted infections and the radiographic appearance of tuberculosis. Papers in therapeutics addressed the use of intrapleural streptokinase for pleural effusion and antibiotic prophylaxis for neutropenic patients. Changes to clinical practice emerging from these articles are shown in the Table .
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Emerging and Reemerging Infections
Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections Are Increasingly Common
Until this publication, the national importance of community-based methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections was unknown. This paper conclusively demonstrated that MRSA infections are now a real problem throughout the United States, even among persons in the community who have no known risk factors.
On the basis of population-based surveillance in Baltimore, Maryland, and Atlanta, Georgia, and hospital laboratory–based sentinel surveillance of 12 hospitals in Minnesota from 2001 through 2002, the authors identified 12 553 patients with MRSA infections. They sought to distinguish community-acquired from health care–acquired MRSA infection. Health care–acquired infection was defined as infection in the following groups: people with previous MRSA isolation or those in whom MRSA was isolated at least 2 days after hospitalization; those who had surgery; those who were receiving dialysis; those who were residents of long-term care facilities; and those who had a venous catheter or a percutaneous medical device, such as a tracheotomy or a Foley catheter. Community-acquired infection was defined as infection in a person without these risk factors for health care–associated infection.
Although most infections were health care–associated, the authors identified …
This 100-word excerpt has been provided in the absence of an abstract.
