Search Tag: infection
2023 08 Sep
World Sepsis Day falls on September 13. Sepsis, which kills more people in Austria each year than heart attacks, is caused by an infection which spreads through the body and damages our organs. A lot of people in the general public still do not know very much about this issue. Sepsis is one of the most common causes of death around the world....Read more
2023 13 Mar
Biomarkers are an area of rapid discovery in critical care medicine today. They have the potential to improve our ability to identify and manage patients at increased risk of organ failure and death. This article provides an overview of biomarkers of infection in the intensive care unit. The heterogeneity of sepsis makes its identification...Read more
2022 16 Mar
ICU sepsis is associated with a mortality rate >25%, with nosocomial infection most lethal, and community acquired infection more common. Optimal management requires identification of the site of infection (lung, abdomen and blood stream most commonly), a focus on the likely pathogens based on risk factors for resistance, and provision of timely and...Read more
2021 30 Sep
Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) infection is a potentially serious complication in critical patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). It generally occurs because of an alteration of the intestinal microbiota due to antibiotic exposure that must be timely identified and diagnosed to start proper and early management....Read more
2019 11 Jun
Sepsis is one of the most dangerous and life-threatening conditions encountered in the intensive care unit. Sepsis is considered to be an emergent disease similar to trauma, heart attack, and stroke. But sepsis is characterised by various aetiologies and pathophysiological conditions, and that is why it is very complicated to treat compared to...Read more
2017 31 May
"Each hour’s delay in initiating antibiotics costs lives" is a doctrine that has attained quasi-religious status. Like most (quasi-)religions this is founded more on faith and hope than hard fact, according to an article in press in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Article author Mervyn Singer, Professor of Intensive...Read more
2016 21 May
A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at UC San Diego Health in the U.S. has introduced a monitoring technology to detect when infants are at risk of infection. The Heart Rate Observation system (HeRO) (MPSC, Charlottesville, USA) is an algorithm-based system that can detect slight changes in a baby’s heartbeat that could be an early sign of a major...Read more
2016 11 Mar
The role of the environment in the transmission of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) is increasingly recognised, requiring a new approach to the selection of materials for objects frequently touched by healthcare workers, patients and visitors that can serve as reservoirs of infection. There are many technologies and materials on the market,...Read more
2015 23 Nov
A promising new drug for sepsis will have its first clinical trials thanks to a new grant from the British Heart Foundation . The new drug, called L-257, has been shown to improve survival and reduce organ failure during sepsis in animal models. The BHF Translational Award was granted to Dr. James Leiper and his clinical collaborator Dr. Simon Lambden...Read more
2015 13 Sep
Sepsis is common and often deadly. It remains the primary cause of death from infection, despite advances in modern medicine like vaccines, antibiotics, and intensive care. World Sepsis Day, 13 September, is an initiative of the Global Sepsis Alliance and its founding members, all of whom are non-profit organizations. The Global Sepsis Alliance...Read more
2015 10 Jul
Researchers at McMaster University have developed a new diagnostic test designed to help clinicians detect infectious diseases such as hepatitis C and deadly superbugs (eg, MRSA and C. difficile) more easily and quickly. They say the new method does not require complicated equipment so tests can be run at room temperature under ordinary conditions....Read more
2015 21 Apr
Sepsis is a common condition whereby an infection triggers an extreme immune response, resulting in widespread inflammation, blood clotting, and swelling. Although sepsis is believed to contribute to between a third and a half of all hospital deaths, the condition remains poorly understood. Now leading doctors warn that medical and public recognition...Read more
2015 26 Feb
A new study published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma (JOT) shows that infection rates can be significantly reduced by giving patients antibiotics within the first hour of injury. The study included 137 trauma patients who had open fractures of the tibia (shinbone). In an open fracture, bone sticks out through the skin or a wound penetrates down...Read more
2014 24 Oct
Pneumonia is caused by many different microbes, and early identification of the bug culprit is important to ensure timely and appropriate treatment. A novel approach — analysing a patient's breath for key chemical compounds made by the infecting microbe — may help detect invasive aspergillosis, a fungal infection that is a leading cause of mortality...Read more
2014 05 Aug
A recent research published in Infection and Immunity talks about an experimental vaccine that was able to protect 100% of animal models against Clostridium difficile, a highly infectious and virulent bacterium. This bacterium causes an intestinal disease that kills nearly 30,000 Americans annually. C-difficile associated disease (CDAD) is caused...Read more