BACKGROUND Invasive candidiasis (IC) is a devastating disease. While prompt antifungal therapy improves outcomes, empiric treatment based on the presence of fever has little clinical impact. Β-D-Glucan (BDG) is a fungal cell wall component detectable in the serum of patients with early invasive fungal infection (IFI). We evaluated the utility of BDG surveillance as a guide for preemptive antifu...

INTRODUCTION Emergency treatment of major sub-/total traumatic amputations continue to represent a clinical challenge due to high infection rates and serious handicaps. Effective treatment is based on two columns: surgery and antimicrobial therapy. Detailed identification of pathogen spectrum and epidemiology associated with these injuries is of tremendous importance as it guides the initial em...

Effective empiric treatment of pneumonia requires antibiotic coverage against gram-negative and grampositive pathogens, including drug-resistant isolates. We compared the safety and efficacy of intravenous (i.v.) cefepime (2 g administered every 12 h) to those of i.v. ceftriaxone (1 g administered every 12 h) for the empiric treatment of hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia. ...

was positive. No other pathogens were detected in her blood, urine, sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage, or thoracenthesis fl uid. Empiric treatment in patients with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 should be considered in those seeking treatment for infl uenza-like symptoms, especially in the setting of sick contacts with respiratory illnesses. Rapid infl uenza tests, respiratory fl uorescent antibody tests, a...