PLoS medicine
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Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) is accepted as safe and effective for medically stable patients to complete intravenous (IV) antibiotics in an outpatient setting. Since, however, uninsured patients in the United States generally cannot afford OPAT, safety-net hospitals are often burdened with long hospitalizations purely to infuse antibiotics, occupying beds that could be used for patients requiring more intensive services. OPAT is generally delivered in one of four settings: infusion centers, nursing homes, at home with skilled nursing assistance, or at home with self-administered therapy. The first three-termed healthcare-administered OPAT (H-OPAT)--are most commonly used in the United States by patients with insurance funding. The fourth--self-administered OPAT (S-OPAT)--is relatively uncommon, with the few published studies having been conducted in the United Kingdom. With multidisciplinary planning, we established an S-OPAT clinic in 2009 to shift care of selected uninsured patients safely to self-administration of their IV antibiotics at home. We undertook this study to determine whether the low-income mostly non-English-speaking patients in our S-OPAT program could administer their own IV antimicrobials at home with outcomes as good as, or better than, those receiving H-OPAT. ⋯ S-OPAT was associated with similar or better clinical outcomes than H-OPAT. S-OPAT may be an acceptable model of treatment for uninsured, medically stable patients to complete extended courses of IV antimicrobials at home.
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Hospitalisation for adversity-related injury (violent, drug/alcohol-related, or self-inflicted injury) has been described as a "teachable moment", when intervention may reduce risks of further harm. Which adolescents are likely to benefit most from intervention strongly depends on their long-term risks of harm. We compared 10-y risks of mortality and re-admission after adversity-related injury with risks after accident-related injury. ⋯ Adolescents discharged after an admission for violent, drug/alcohol-related, or self-inflicted injury have increased risks of subsequent harm up to a decade later. Introduction of preventive strategies for reducing subsequent harm after admission should be considered for all types of adversity-related injury, particularly for older adolescents.
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Amir Attaran and Kumanan Wilson propose a compensation system for vaccine injuries, based on no-fault principles, to ensure that recipients of Ebola vaccines are fairly compensated in cases of iatrogenic harm.
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In the year-end editorial, the PLOS Medicine editors ask 11 researchers and clinicians about the most relevant challenges, promising research, and important initiatives in their fields as we head into 2016.
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Foodborne diseases are important worldwide, resulting in considerable morbidity and mortality. To our knowledge, we present the first global and regional estimates of the disease burden of the most important foodborne bacterial, protozoal, and viral diseases. ⋯ Foodborne diseases result in a large disease burden, particularly in children. Although it is known that diarrheal diseases are a major burden in children, we have demonstrated for the first time the importance of contaminated food as a cause. There is a need to focus food safety interventions on preventing foodborne diseases, particularly in low- and middle-income settings.