Search Tag: antibiotics

2015 25 Feb

Wealthier areas of the US have more antibiotic prescriptions written per capita, where there is greater competition among care providers, according to new research from Johns Hopkins. Patients in such areas may be more able and likely to shop for physicians who are willing to write a prescription. As a result, doctors’ offices compete with retail medical...Read more

2015 13 Feb

Infections due to multidrug resistant gram negative bacilli (RGNB) in critically ill patients have been reported to be associated with increased morbidity and healthcare costs. A recent study conducted by researchers in Singapore has highlighted the heavy economic burden of RGNB infections to both the patient and hospital. "Nosocomial acquired RGNB...Read more

2015 19 Jan

According to a retrospective study, an antibiotic protocol that determined antibiotic use based on risk for health care-associated infections significantly increased appropriate prescription of antibiotics in a paediatric ICU. The study has been published online in Annals of the American Thoracic Society .   Researchers evaluated patients with an...Read more

2015 12 Jan

The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) has issued a call to policy-makers in the European Union to make 2015 a year of action with respect to the antimicrobial resistance challenge. The new policy statement published by 34 national member associations reminds policy makers of the opportunities available to them as well as highlights...Read more

2015 10 Jan

A novel method for growing bacteria has finally yielded a promising new antibiotic which could be a major breakthrough ending a decades-long drought in antibiotic discovery. The last new class of antibiotics was discovered nearly three decades ago. During this time, microbes have become more and more resistant. However, a new study published...Read more

2014 27 Nov

A new method developed by Swedish researchers can rapidly identify which bacteria are causing an infection and detect whether they are resistant or sensitive to antibiotics. Results of the study have been published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology . "Clinical use of the method would mean that the right antibiotic treatment could be started...Read more

2014 24 Nov

According to a new survey by Public Health England (PHE), nearly 40 percent of people are unnecessarily taking antibiotics for coughs or runny noses while 90 percent are unaware that drug-resistant bacteria can spread from person to person. These findings were released to mark the European Antibiotics Awareness Day on 18 November. The survey calls...Read more

2014 17 Nov

EMA supports innovative approaches to facilitate development of new antibiotics The European Medicines Agency (EMA) supports European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD), which is taking place on Tuesday 18 November. EAAD is organised every year by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). It aims to raise awareness of the threat...Read more

2014 07 Nov

On-the-spot tests for bacterial infections, which only take about three minutes to process, may help to reduce excessive use of antibiotics. Researchers in Denmark performed a systematic review showing that doctors who tested for the presence of bacterial infections were prescribing fewer antibiotics. Their findings are published online in The Cochrane...Read more

2014 21 Oct

Research scientists at the University of Bristol have used computer simulations to show how bacteria destroy antibiotics. This could be a major breakthrough and could help in the development of drugs that can effectively tackle bacterial infections in the future. The research team focused on the role of enzymes in the bacteria and how they split the structure...Read more

2014 15 Oct

A study presented by Dr. Hugo Calderón at the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) congress in Barcelona this month looked at whether implementing a protocol for antibiotic use affected patient mortality and admission costs. This followed reorganisation of the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Hospital de Faro in Portugal, when the number...Read more

2014 11 Oct

Recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) may be treated with oral administration of frozen encapsulated faecal material from healthy donors, according to results of a preliminary study published in JAMA . The treatment resulted in an overall 90 percent rate of clinical resolution of diarrhoea. The Clostridium difficult (C-diff) bacterium is...Read more

2014 11 Oct

A new study published in JAMA has determined that vancomycin, an antibiotic that came out more than 50 years ago, remains effective in treating Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections. The study's authors said doctors should continue to use the drug even as newer antibiotics can now be bought in the market. Staphylococcus aureus is amongst...Read more

2014 04 Oct

Results of a new study by Thomas Jefferson University (PA, USA) scientists published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases could help explain the joint pain caused by different infections, including Lyme disease, and why these infections are so resistant to antibiotic treatment. "Our goal was to determine why Staphylococcus aureus, particularly methicillin-resistant...Read more

2014 05 Jul

Haemodialysis patients at risk for deadly catheter-related infections experience fewer infections and 68 percent lower mortality when they received a low dose of antibiotic therapy, compared to the anticoagulant heparin. The study reporting these results by researchers at the Henry Ford Health System appears online in the Clinical Journal...Read more

2014 12 Mar

According to research findings described in an article entitled "Discovery of a New Class of Non-beta-lactam Inhibitors of Penicillin-Binding Proteins with Gram-Positive Antibacterial Activity", and published in the the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a team of University of Notre Dame researchers have discovered a new class of antibiotics...Read more

2014 21 Feb

In a recent study published in the March edition of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, a team of researchers share their findings on the diagnosis and treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). With the aims of quantifying and characterising unjustified antimicrobial use for VAP as well as identifying risk factors associated...Read more

2013 14 Nov

A four-year project entitled ‘TAILORED-Treatment’ is aimed at establishing a successful strategy to enhance the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment, lowering any potential therapy side-effects and limiting the rise of antimicrobial resistance in patients. Coordinated by the Netherland’s Erasmus MC, Rotterdam it is funded with € 6.000.000 by the...Read more

2013 11 Nov

According to research published in the British Medical Journal, a new 'clinical score' test devised for patients with a sore throat could lower antibiotics prescription rates of and lead to faster patient recovery. In a bid to determine whether to prescribe patients with an antibiotic immediately or to give them a delayed prescription, and comparing...Read more

2013 01 Oct

Plasma reactor: The RUB team generates atmospheric-pressure plasmas and tests which effects UV radiation and reactive particles have on bacterial cells and molecules. Copyright: RUB, Photo: Jan-Wilm Lackmann As they destroy bacteria very efficiently, plasmas constitute an alternative to chemical disinfectants and potentially to antibiotics,...Read more