Gastrointestinal Infections News

Curtis J. Donskey, MD, and colleagues at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center had a novel idea to prevent some infections in their facility.

Over the last 20 years, Helicobacter pylori resistance to clarithromycin — an antibiotic commonly used to treat the infection — has more than doubled in Europe, increasing from 9.9% in 1998 to 21.6% in 2018, according to study findings presented at United European Gastroenterology Week.

Recent study data showed disparities in hepatitis B virus infection rates between ethnic groups as well as among between U.S.-born and foreign-born patients.

Patients who developed hepatitis C-related hepatocellular carcinoma after achieving sustained virologic response with interferon-free direct-acting antivirals had a 60% to 70% improvement in 5-year survival compared with untreated patients.

In August, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued a draft recommendation that encourages clinicians to screen all adults aged 18 to 79 years for HCV infection, including pregnant women. According to the USPSTF, HCV prevalence doubled among women aged 15 to 44 years between 2006 and 2014. Due to the increasing prevalence of the disease in this age group, the task force said clinicians “may want to consider screening pregnant persons aged younger than age 18 years.”

In August, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued a draft recommendation that encourages clinicians to screen all adults aged 18 to 79 years for HCV infection, including pregnant women. According to the USPSTF, HCV prevalence doubled among women aged 15 to 44 years between 2006 and 2014. Due to the increasing prevalence of the disease in this age group, the task force said clinicians “may want to consider screening pregnant persons aged younger than age 18 years.”

From 2013 through 2016, an estimated 2.4 million adults in the United States had a current hepatitis C virus infection. A study published in The American Journal of Public Health reported that the infection rate increased more than twofold between 2004 and 2014 as a result of the opioid epidemic.

From 2013 through 2016, an estimated 2.4 million adults in the United States had a current hepatitis C virus infection. A study published in The American Journal of Public Health reported that the infection rate increased more than twofold between 2004 and 2014 as a result of the opioid epidemic.

In contrast to previous study results, hepatocellular carcinoma and decompensated cirrhosis rates were similar between patients coinfected with hepatitis C and HIV and those with hepatitis C alone, according to data.

Compared with standard of care, fecal microbiota transplantation decreases mortality among patients with severe and fulminant Clostridioides difficile infection, according to study results.