Volume 11, Issue 1, January 2024

Untreated mucormycosis has a 100% mortality, reduced to ~32% with amphotericin B, ~14% with amphotericin B followed by azole (possible survivor bias), 17-25% with posaconazole or isavuconazole alone, or ~7% in combination with amphotericin B. Surgical resection(s) reduces mortality from ~67% to ~38%.

Hospital costs of patients with invasive candidiasis who received an echinocandin were substantial and most required additional medical care postdischarge. Many patients (43%) on an echinocandin at hospital discharge were potentially dischargeable prior to their actual discharge day.

Switching to dolutegravir-lamivudine demonstrated durable noninferior efficacy, with similar effects on inflammation, versus continuing tenofovir alafenamide–based regimens over 3 years. Long-term inflammatory biomarker levels were low; comparable between treatment groups; and associated with demographic, lifestyle, and baseline disease characteristics.

Antibiotic administration before joint aspiration for suspected septic arthritis appears to decrease synovial fluid white blood cell counts, percentages of polymorphonuclear cells, and rates of culture positivity. Efforts limiting preaspiration antibiotics are important to minimize diagnostic dilemmas and treatment delays.

Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra has a high diagnostic accuracy for spinal tuberculosis in both open and CT-guided biopsy samples, irrespective of HIV-1 coinfection, while tuberculosis culture has limited sensitivity when using CT-guided biopsies, particularly in patients on concurrent pulmonary tuberculosis treatment.

Area under the curve (AUC)–guided vancomycin therapy via model-informed precision dosing using pre–steady state, single-concentration monitoring for culture-proven gram-positive infections was compared to those receiving trough-guided therapy using a desirability of outcome ranking analysis. More patients experienced the most desirable outcome with AUC-guided therapy.

We have developed a curriculum and competency guidelines for Advanced Care Practitioners in Infectious Disease (ID). Our document provides the foundation for the full scope of ID practice with emphasis on clinical experience as the principal means of achieving competence.

For 8329 children with flu-like illness (65.3%), bronchiolitis (17.9%), otitis (8.8%), and croup (6.3%), the use of a rapid antigen triple test to detect SARS-CoV-2, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza led to a viral diagnosis in 47.9% of cases.

Black women had a higher prevalence of hypertension when compared with White and Hispanic women. Additionally, treatment for hypertension is higher in women with HIV than women without HIV, which may result from greater access and engagement with medical care.

A high incidence of outpatient Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) was detected despite infrequent CDI testing among patients with medically attended diarrhea. The majority of those with outpatient CDI had no recent antibiotic use and no recent hospitalization.

Using population-based data from several linked administrative and clinical databases, we characterized the health burden of COVID-19 longitudinally in the nearly 7 million residents of the Madrid region over the first 3 years and 7 epidemic waves of the pandemic.

We compared COVID-19 outcomes between migrants and non-migrants with HIV in Catalonia, Spain. Migrants had lower testing and vaccination rates but higher hospitalization and ICU admission rates, highlighting disparities in pandemic responses for migrants with HIV.

This study evaluated the clinical effectiveness of fidaxomicin vs vancomycin for Clostridioides difficile infection in immunocompromised hosts. Our findings confirm that the use of fidaxomicin was associated with a reduced risk of treatment failure and recurrence.

Analysis of syringe residue of discarded drug use equipment demonstrates a high prevalence of both chemical and biological contaminants, including medically important pathogens.

Corticosteroids—in monotherapy or in coadministration with other immunosuppressive agents—are the principal risk factor for Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in the non-HIV population. Current prophylaxis guidelines and accepted practices are insufficient to adequately prevent P jirovecii pneumonia and need to be updated.

We present evidence for slowly evolving clinical immunity, a very high antibody level, and a robust cellular and cytokine response in a patient with B-cell deficiency who experienced 3 clinical episodes of babesiosis during a 6-year period.

Isoniazid monoresistance was associated with increased risk of unfavorable anti-tuberculosis (TB) treatment outcomes undertaking standard isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol regimen independent of age, sex, body mass index, HIV seropositivity, and glycemic status. This underscores the need for new treatment regimens to improve TB treatment outcomes.

Eleven years after a third measles-mumps-rubella vaccine dose, measles and rubella neutralizing antibody levels remained high in adults. However, on the basis of waning of the antibody levels, 10% of 3-dose-vaccinated adults may become susceptible to measles over time.

In a cholera-endemic urban setting, the combination of improved household water, sanitation, and hygiene and a policy to vaccinate with oral cholera vaccine was associated with greater protective effectiveness against cholera in household residents when compared with either intervention alone.