An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
March 14th, 2010
MRSA Bacteremia Question Redux — and the “Answer”
As noted here, I recently had to answer a question on management of MRSA bacteremia as part of an every-10-year cycle of test-taking. (For more on that joyous process, read this interesting debate here in the New England Journal of Medicine.) The question seemed to have no obvious right answer, so I did what one is explicitly […]
February 28th, 2010
CROI 2010 Recap: No Obvious Blockbusters, But …
Ok, I’ll admit it — I didn’t see any studies presented at CROI this year that will immediately transform HIV care on a day-to-day basis. Nothing that will alter practice right now. Nothing like last year’s NA-ACCORD, or 2008’s surprising DAD study, or 2007’s raltegravir studies, to name a few recent examples. (All subsequently published, of course — links […]
February 14th, 2010
Retrovirus Conference (CROI) 2010 Preview
Just as pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training this week, many HIV specialists are gearing up for the 17th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), which starts this Tuesday in San Francisco. (I don’t suppose many people see the link between those two events. Oh well.) And since the “pocket program” to the […]
February 2nd, 2010
Bats in the Bedroom: Canadians Make a Policy Change
ID doctors know all too well the panicky call — usually from a terrified friend, family member, or colleague, or possibly the emergency room or primary care doc — about finding a bat in the house. Usually in the bedroom. (In one memorable case, it was the house cat’s leaping in the air to try […]
January 29th, 2010
More on TaqMan Viral Load Testing
Since I first discussed the disruptive effect of introducing Mr. TaqMan to our clinic, many others have weighed in. One of my favorite reports is a nice paper from the Alabama group, presented first at IDSA, and soon to be published. It shows not only a higher rate of low-level detectable results, but also the […]
January 17th, 2010
Hey, Didn’t You Used to be the Cause of CFS?
The report last year that xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) was found in a high proportion of patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) caused quite a stir — which is totally understandable given how frustrated the people with CFS are with the lack of adequate explanations for their suffering. The investigators of the original […]
January 14th, 2010
Magic Wand Destroys H1N1 — and More!
From the folks at Hammacher Schlemmer comes this extraordinary device: Tests performed by an independent antimicrobial testing laboratory showed the wand destroyed 99.98% of the H1N1 virus after a five-second exposure when held 3/4″ above the contaminated surface. Also capable of killing MRSA, mold, and dust mites, the UV-C light penetrates viral and bacterial membranes […]
January 10th, 2010
Ceftobiprole’s Long Road to Approval Gets Longer
Cephalosporins with activity against MRSA are out there, but we don’t have them yet. Just recently, the leader of the pack, ceftobiprole, hit another roadblock: The FDA has indicated in its Complete Response Letter to Johnson & Johnson PRD that it has completed the review of the application and has determined that it cannot approve […]
January 1st, 2010
Top 10 Stories of the Year
No end-of-year wrap-up is complete without a “Top 10” list, and Journal Watch: AIDS Clinical Care is no exception. This year we did two lists, one chosen by the Editors, the other a numeric tally of what’s read on line by the Readers. The “When to start” issue was the top story from the Editors. […]
December 20th, 2009
Infections from Transplant Donors: Rare but Inevitable
Two kidney transplant patients are critically ill due to Balamuthia mandrillaris encephalitis they acquired from the organ donor: The same infection probably killed the organ donor, but it was not diagnosed; his doctors thought he had an autoimmune disease. Two other patients also received heart and liver transplants from the donor, but neither has become […]
Paul E. Sax, MD
Contributing Editor
NEJM Journal Watch
Infectious Diseases
Biography | Disclosures | Summaries
Learn more about HIV and ID Observations.
NEJM Journal Watch — Recent Infectious Disease Articles- Cefixime: Might It Be an Option for Treating Early Syphilis?
- Should Emergency Departments Offer Routine Vaccines to Adults?
- Should Immunosuppression Be Interrupted During an Infection?
- Is Endotracheal Aspirate Adequate for Diagnosis of Pneumocystis Pneumonia?
- For Early Syphilis, Are Three Doses of Benzathine Penicillin Better Than One?