Respiratory Infections News

Among patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia associated with pulmonary hypertension, treatment with riociguat was linked to an increase in adverse events with no significant evidence of benefit, according to the RISE-IIP trial.

A recent report published in Emerging Infectious Diseases detailed a case of likely human-to-human transmission of an influenza A virus with reduced susceptibility to Xofluza between two siblings in Japan.

Social media provides a quick and easy way to communicate and disseminate information.

In Kenya, patients with tuberculosis who received daily text-based questions about treatment adherence and other mobile phone-based reminders were around two-thirds less likely to fail to complete treatment, according to findings published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Xofluza significantly reduced the risk for influenza infection among children aged younger than 12 years and adults living with infected individuals by 86%, according to phase 3 trial findings released by Genentech.

A comparison of N95 respirators and medical masks for the prevention of influenza demonstrated no significant difference in the incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza among health care workers in outpatient settings, according to findings from The Respiratory Protection Effectiveness Clinical Trial (ResPECT).

Oseltamivir for influenza prophylaxis is a consideration for health care workers at high risk for developing influenza, including those who decline vaccination, but it comes with some challenges, researchers reported in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

Monthly high-dose vitamin D supplementation does not prevent acute respiratory infections in older adults with vitamin D deficiency, according to a recent study.

Although the rate of new tuberculosis cases among U.S. children and adolescents has decreased by nearly half in recent years, incidence of the disease remains disproportionately high among certain ethnic, racial and geographic communities, researchers reported in The Lancet Public Health.

As a young medical student, I learned how tiny organisms could wreak great havoc in this world — which exposed me to the world of ID early in my medical career. I attended medical school with the goal of understanding and conquering them. During my ID rotation, I cared for a patient who had fever, vague symptoms and a rash that was biopsied. They called us, the ID service, hoping that we could offer answers. This role of a detective, collaborator, thinker and doctor is what still appeals to me the most about the practice of ID. I was in awe of the ID specialists who ascertained the etiology as secondary syphilis and treated this patient with penicillin — and I hoped someday to emulate them. Intriguing cases like this sparked my interest in this field, which only grew stronger in the years to come.