Respiratory Infections News

TORONTO — Pediatric hospital transfers due to bronchiolitis increased at a disproportionate rate in recent years compared with all causes of hospitalization, according to a study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting.

Older patients with respiratory syncytial virus have higher complication rates than those with influenza, although both illnesses had comparable mortality rates, researchers found.

Among patients with bronchiectasis, disease severity was higher with a blood eosinophil count less than 50 cells/L or higher than 300 cells/L, according to results published in CHEST.

Among hospitalized patients with various pulmonary conditions, living in a low socioeconomic status area heightened the odds for 30-day mortality and readmission, according to results published in Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

Among pediatric patients hospitalized with bronchiolitis, use of weight-based non-ICU vs. ICU-only high-flow nasal cannula protocols was linked to lower yearly ICU admission rates, according to results published in JAMA Network Open.

The FDA this week approved the antibiotic Zevtera for the treatment of three bacterial infections 17 years after it was first submitted to the agency.

A person in Texas tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza after having exposure to dairy cattle that are presumed to also be infected with the virus, health officials reported.

Moderna announced positive interim results from a phase 3 trial of its next-generation COVID-19 vaccine, which the company said will help pave the way for its combination shot against COVID-19 and influenza.

Among patients with tuberculosis in high-incidence countries, more than 80% did not report persistent cough and more than 60% did not report cough all together, according to results published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Around one in eight hospitalized adults treated for community-acquired pneumonia in a Michigan study were inappropriately diagnosed, and most of those patients received unneeded antibiotics, according to a study.