The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. · Mar 2012
Review Meta AnalysisAntibiotic prophylaxis in cardiac surgery: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended in cardiac surgery. Current debate concerns the type of antibiotic(s), dosing and the duration of prophylaxis. ⋯ Evidence supports second- or third-generation cephalosporins for cardiac surgery prophylaxis and points at a possible advantage of prophylaxis prolongation up to 48 h post-operatively.
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. · Mar 2012
Voriconazole drug monitoring in the management of invasive fungal infection in immunocompromised children: a prospective study.
To evaluate voriconazole plasma level monitoring in immunocompromised children and determine the relationship of plasma levels with dose, safety and efficacy. ⋯ Our study confirms the large variability in voriconazole trough plasma levels in children and a trend to non-linear pharmacokinetics in older patients. In addition, doses significantly higher than those recommended in younger children seem warranted and a significant relationship between plasma voriconazole above the normal range and some adverse events is confirmed.
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. · Mar 2012
Influence of teicoplanin MICs on treatment outcomes among patients with teicoplanin-treated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia: a hospital-based retrospective study.
Higher vancomycin MIC values (≥1.5 mg/L via Etest) may be associated with vancomycin treatment failure among patients with serious methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. As there were limited similar data for teicoplanin, this retrospective cohort study intended to determine the predictive value of teicoplanin MICs for treatment failure among patients with MRSA bacteraemia. ⋯ A higher teicoplanin MIC value (>1.5 mg/L) may predict an unfavourable outcome and higher mortality rate among teicoplanin-treated MRSA bacteraemic patients.
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. · Mar 2012
Prevalence of surgical site infections before and after the implementation of a multimodal infection control programme.
In order to assess the prevalence of surgical site infections (SSIs) before and after the implementation of a multimodal infection control programme including the realization of a campaign to increase compliance with guidelines for antimicrobial prophylaxis, we designed and conducted the present study involving all 20 of the surgical departments of a large teaching hospital in Catania, Italy. ⋯ The approach used in this study remains a feasible method of evaluating the burden of SSIs using repeated prevalence surveys. The results provide evidence of a significant decreasing trend in the SSI rate following the infection control intervention. Furthermore, our study underlines the need to develop evidence-based guidelines in collaboration with surgeons, to achieve consensus before implementation in order to improve compliance with antimicrobial prophylaxis and, finally, decrease SSI rates.