Healthcare & Laboratory News

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/5, Basilio) reports a study found that “factors such as structural racism and disinvestment in rural communities may predict individual health care-associated infection (HAI) risk and adverse HAI outcomes among adult inpatients.” Among patients who developed HAIs, researchers observed that “the median length of hospital stay was 19 days, and the median number of inpatient days prior to infection onset was 7. The researchers observed the highest rate of HAIs among Black rural patients (4.1%), followed by White rural (3.9%), White urban (3.1%), and Black urban patients (2.7%). In the adjusted analysis, the risk for HAI was lower among Black vs White urban patients and higher among White rural vs White urban patients.” In addition, “the overall rate of HAI-associated mortality was 17.5%, with the highest risk observed among Black rural patients.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/5, Basilio) reports a study found that “the risk for invasive Escherichia coli disease is increased among patients undergoing urologic procedures regardless of prophylactic antibiotic use.” Researchers “conducted a retrospective, claims-based cohort study from 2021 to 2023 to estimate the risk for invasive E coli disease after select elective urologic procedures with and without antibiotic prophylaxis.” They found that “patients who underwent urologic procedures without antibiotic prophylaxis showed significantly greater risk for invasive E coli disease than those who underwent procedures with prophylaxis. However, the risk was significantly lower among patients in the control cohort compared with those who underwent procedures with antibiotic prophylaxis.” Researchers concluded, “This study underscores a continued unmet need for additional preventative measures to avoid the substantial burden of IED [invasive E coli disease] after urologic procedures.” The study was published in Infectious Diseases and Therapy.

Healio (5/5, Shinkle) reports that administration of Rebyota (fecal microbiota, live-jslm) “by colonoscopy appears safe and effective among adults with recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection, according to results from the CDI-SCOPE trial presented at Digestive Disease Week.” Researchers said that “95% of study participants achieved treatment success at 8 weeks after administration.” Following treatment, “90% of patients noticed symptom improvement within the first month, and 52% reported improvement in the first week.” Furthermore, 90% of physicians “who performed the colonoscopy procedures reported a ‘positive’ or ‘very positive’ experience with administration, including preparation time and ease of passage through the colonoscope.”

Pulmonology Advisor (5/5, Stong) reports, “Arterial blood gas testing in the intensive care unit (ICU) is frequently not done or delayed in patients who are Asian, Black, Hispanic or Latino, and female vs those who are White and male, according to study findings.” Study “data were obtained from 4 ICU high-resolution electronic health records...databases for all adult ICU patients from 161 US hospitals between 2001 and 2019.” The research was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Reuters (5/2, Roy) reports, “Measles cases in Texas rose 3% to 683 over three days, the state’s health department reported on Friday, as nationwide cases of the childhood disease approach the 1,000-mark.” As of May 1, “935 confirmed measles cases were reported by 30 jurisdictions, with 12 outbreaks reported this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.” The number of cases in Gaines County, which is “the center of the outbreak, was 396, same as its last update, the Texas Department of State Health Services said.”

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/2, Nye) reported a study found that “older adults hospitalized with influenza show significantly reduced risk of mortality following treatment with oseltamivir regardless of vaccination status, including those who initiate treatment more than 48 hours after admission.” Researchers observed that “compared with no antiviral treatment, the risk of 30-day mortality was significantly reduced among patients who received oseltamivir regardless of whether administration occurred within or after 48 hours of hospital admission. However, the relationship between oseltamivir and reduced mortality was significant among only patients with influenza A and not among those with influenza B.” Researchers concluded, “Our findings confirm the effectiveness of oseltamivir in a typically underrepresented group in clinical trials, challenging hesitancy towards late antiviral treatment and emphasizing prompt intervention.” The study was published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/2, Basilio) reported a study found that “strategies to prevent and mitigate the risk for long COVID remain a public health priority, with the highest disease incidence observed in older adults, women, and those with preexisting conditions.” Researchers failed to observe any evidence “among adult and pediatric patients across 3 large cohorts to suggest reduced risk for long COVID over time, indicating long COVID remains an ongoing public health concern.” Across all three cohorts, “researchers noted higher long COVID risk among female vs male patients, particularly in the N3C cohort. Intensive care unit admission during the index event also consistently contributed to significantly higher long COVID risk.” Researchers concluded, “Peaks in long-COVID cases aligned with emergence of new viral variants, suggesting a potential association between viral dynamics and the development of long-COVID.” The study was published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The AP (5/2, Stobbe) reported more US children have “died this flu season than at any time since the swine flu pandemic 15 years ago, according to a federal report released Friday.” The 216 pediatric deaths reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “eclipse the 207 reported last year” and are the “most since the 2009-2010 H1N1 global flu pandemic.” The season “has not only been hard on children. CDC officials have described it as ‘highly severe,’ and estimate that so far there have been at least 47 million illnesses, 610,000 hospitalizations and 26,000 deaths this season.”

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