Respiratory Infections News

Because no available evidence supports the use of over-the-counter decongestants and antihistamines in young children with the common cold, and the safety of these medications remains uncertain, the authors of an editorial published today in The BMJ asked providers to not encourage the use of these products in their pediatric patients.

Pediatric primary care providers adhere to many parts of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society’s and the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s guidelines related to the diagnosis and treatment of community-acquired pneumonia, including limited use of chest radiographs and complete blood cell counts, according to research published in Pediatrics. However, adherence to guideline-recommended antibiotic therapy was associated with unscheduled follow-up visits for children aged older than 5 years, researchers said.

The seasonal influenza vaccine had no significant clinical impact on the effectiveness of the 2009 pandemic influenza vaccine in patients who received both, according to findings from a recently published study.

Six children in Minnesota have developed acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, according to officials from the Minnesota Department of Health. These cases have all occurred since mid-September in children aged younger than 10 years, and all children have been hospitalized, the officials said in a statement.

Hand hygiene programs that include education for children, parents and day care center workers are effective at reducing the number of respiratory infections among the center’s students and the number of antibiotic prescriptions filled, according to research published in Pediatrics. Researchers said that this intervention also reduced the number of absent days for children.

Receiving care in a for-profit hospital was linked to an increased risk for readmission, compared with public and nonprofit hospitals, according to research from PLOS One.

SAN FRANCISCO — A 5-day course of oral lefamulin is noninferior to 7 days of oral moxifloxacin for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia, according to results from a second phase 3 trial presented at IDWeek.

Previous research suggests that nearly half of preterm infants younger than 32 weeks’ gestation are infected with Ureaplasma, a bacterium that is commonly found in the birth canal but is difficult to identify. Infection with Ureaplasma can lead to severe respiratory issues and can increase their likelihood of mortality. However, research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress suggests that azithromycin can effectively reduce the frequency of death in premature infants.

The FDA has approved Nuzyra for treating adults with community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and acute skin and skin structure infections, according to Paratek Pharmaceuticals.

Telemedicine visits for respiratory tract infections were shorter and had higher patient satisfaction ratings when antibiotics were prescribed, according to studies published in Annals of Internal Medicine and JAMA Internal Medicine.