Top stories in infectious disease: five crucial treatment steps for sepsis, HIV regimen effective in treatment-naive patients

Among the top stories in infectious disease is an updated version of the 2016 Surviving Sepsis Campaign which focuses on five crucial treatment steps that should be employed within the first hour of identifying sepsis. Two phase 3 trials showed a once-daily, two-drug regimen of dolutegravir and lamivudine was effective in treatment-naive patients with HIV. Other top stories include a discovery that patients with Parkinson’s disease had substantially fewer bacteriophages compared with people who do not have the disorder, national outpatient data collected during two recent influenza seasons showed a widespread overuse of antibiotics for acute respiratory infections, and the only licensed dengue vaccine increased the risk for severe disease and hospitalization in patients with no prior exposure to the disease.

Surviving Sepsis Campaign updates guidelines; still no support from IDSA

An updated version of the 2016 Surviving Sepsis Campaign, or SSC, now includes an “Hour-1 Bundle” focusing on five crucial treatment steps that should be employed within the first hour of identifying sepsis, the campaign announced. Read More.

Two-drug HIV regimen effective in treatment-naive patients

ViiV Healthcare released data from two phase 3 trials that showed a once-daily, two-drug regimen of dolutegravir and lamivudine was noninferior to a standard three-drug regimen in treatment-naive patients with HIV. Read More.

Bacteriophages may play role in Parkinson’s disease

Researchers have discovered substantial differences in the abundance of bacteriophages in patients with Parkinson’s disease compared with people who do not have the neurodegenerative disorder. Read More.

Large study finds rampant antibiotic misuse for respiratory infections

A review of national outpatient data collected during two recent influenza seasons in the United States found widespread overuse of antibiotics for acute respiratory infections, researchers reported. Read More.

Study supports safety concerns of world’s only dengue vaccine

Findings published today in The New England Journal of Medicine affirm that the world’s only licensed dengue vaccine increased the risk for severe disease and hospitalization in patients with no prior exposure to the disease. Read More.