Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
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Among various risk factors for death among critically ill patients with serious infection, inappropriate antimicrobial therapy is an important factor that clinicians can modify directly. The presence of multidrug-resistant bacteria is the primary reason that patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia receive inappropriate antimicrobial therapy. Empirical antimicrobial therapy for ventilator-associated pneumonia should be initiated promptly and should have a broad spectrum that covers all potential antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. ⋯ Broad-spectrum therapy should be streamlined (i.e., de-escalated), as appropriate, on the basis of microbiological data and clinical response. Switching to narrower-spectrum therapy that is directed by culture results may minimize the emergence of resistance. For some patients, clinical response will allow a shortening of the duration of antimicrobial therapy.
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Recently, outbreaks of anorectal lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) have occurred among men who have sex with men (MSM). This study identifies risk factors and clinical predictors of LGV to determine the implications for clinical practice. ⋯ LGV testing is recommended for MSM with anorectal chlamydia. If routine LGV serovar typing is unavailable, we propose administration of syndromic LGV treatment for MSM with anorectal chlamydia and either proctitis detected by proctoscopic examination, > 10 white blood cells/high-power field detected on an anorectal smear specimen, or HIV seropositivity.
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Editorial Comment
Universal access to antiretroviral therapy: when, not if.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Community-Acquired Pneumonia Recovery in the Elderly (CAPRIE): efficacy and safety of moxifloxacin therapy versus that of levofloxacin therapy.
Limited prospective data are available for elderly patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). This study aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of moxifloxacin versus that of levofloxacin for the treatment of CAP in hospitalized elderly patients (age, > or = 65 years). ⋯ Intravenous/oral moxifloxacin therapy was efficacious and safe for hospitalized elderly patients with CAP, achieving > 90% cure in all severity and age subgroups, and was associated with faster clinical recovery than intravenous/oral levofloxacin therapy, with a comparable safety profile.