Gastrointestinal Infections News

Clinical practice guidelines issued last year recommended against routinely testing patients for Clostridioides difficile if they have received a laxative within the previous 48 hours. But recent study findings showed no difference in the rates or severity of C. difficile infection, or CDI, among patients who received laxatives compared with those who did not, and researchers cautioned that the recent guidance “[does not] allow room for clinical judgement” in determining if a patient is infected.

The rates of hepatitis C infection at delivery among pregnant women in the U.S. increased between 2000 and 2015, especially among women with concomitant opioid use disorder, the prevalence of which also increased during that period.

It is still common for antibiotics to be dispensed without a prescription at community pharmacies throughout China, though the practice is less prevalent in chain pharmacies, in urban areas and in places where a pharmacist is on duty, according to a recently published study.

Results from a real-world study of implementing hepatitis C testing into integrated care centers that deliver HIV services to people who inject drugs demonstrated superior infection awareness, testing and treatment compared with usual care.

WASHINGTON — The investigational microbiota-based drug, RBX2660, safely and effectively prevented recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection, or rCDI, and demonstrated clinical durability 2 years after treatment, according to findings from the PUNCH open-label study presented at IDWeek.

WASHINGTON — An investigational vaccine failed to prevent chronic hepatitis C virus infection in a cohort of at-risk adults, according to results of a clinical trial presented at IDWeek.

WASHINGTON — Multidrug-resistant Salmonella was detected twice as often in samples of meat from conventionally-raised chicken and turkeys compared with antibiotic-free or organic poultry, according to findings from a study conducted in Pennsylvania.

The FDA accepted a new drug application for the oral suspension formulation of Dificid, Merck’s macrolide antibiotic. At the same time, it accepted a supplemental new drug application for the drug in tablet and oral suspension form for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection in children aged 6 months or older, Merck announced.

WASHINGTON — Infectious Disease News and Healio.com are onsite at IDWeek 2019 to provide live coverage of the conference, held from Oct. 2 to 6.

The FDA has expanded the approval of Mavyret for a treatment duration of 8 weeks to include treatment-naive adults and children aged 12 years and older with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 through 6 and compensated cirrhosis.