Infection Control News

Use of ClearGuard HD antimicrobial barrier caps, manufactured by Pursuit Vascular Inc., was associated with a significantly lower the rate of catheter-related bloodstream infections among patients on hemodialysis using central venous catheters when compared with Tego connectors plus Curos caps, according to a study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

The risk of infection-related deaths after kidney transplantation dropped by about half since the 1990s in Finland, according to a study that appears in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Use of metformin did not increase incident lactic acidosis in patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate greater than 30 mL/min/1.73 m², according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The FDA granted clearance for a broader indication of Pursuit Vascular Inc.’s ClearGuard HD caps to include reduction in the incidence of central-line-associated bloodstream infection in patients on hemodialysis with central venous catheters. The expanded clearance was based on post-market clinical surveillance data.

Soliris is a humanized monoclonal antibody that has emerged as a life-saving therapy for certain rare diseases but carries with it the risk for bacterial infections, particularly from Neisseria species. As such, vaccination against N. meningitidis and other encapsulated bacteria — like Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae — has long been recommended for people taking the drug. More recently, breakthrough meningococcal infections in appropriately immunized patients have prompted discussions of whether additional long-term antibiotic prophylaxis is needed.

The first large-scale clinical trial to study kidney transplantation between people with HIV has begun at clinical centers across the United States, according to a press release from the NIH.

The urine of patients with kidney disease contains bacteria such as Staphylococcus and Streptococcus, according to a study by researchers at Loyola Medicine and Loyola University Chicago. The study by corresponding author Michael J. Zilliox, PhD, and first author Holly Kramer, MD, MPH, and colleagues is published in International Urology and Nephrology.

In mid-April, the CDC and FDA announced that a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli 0157:H7 infections was linked to contaminated romaine lettuce. Although the exact source of the contamination has yet to be determined, investigators are focused on the Yuma, Arizona, growing region, and over two dozen farms are under investigation there.

The risk of death from infection after kidney transplantation has dropped by half since the 1990s in a cohort of Finnish patients, according to an analysis that will appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Colistin is typically associated with substantial excess acute kidney injury that is apparent within 72 hours of treatment; however, colistin’s toxicity varied according to baseline hemoglobin concentration, according to recent findings published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.