Communications to the Editor not have active Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). All of these patients had a history of single or recurrent episodes of PCP and were receiving aerosolized pentamidine isethionate as prophylaxis against recurrence of PCP It was suspected that the pneumothoraces were caused by coughing due to the irritative effect of pentamidine therapy on the airways superimpose...

Intravascular catheters and urinary catheters are the 2 most commonly inserted medical devices in the United States, and they are likewise the two most common causes of nosocomially acquired bloodstream infection. Biofilm formation on the surfaces of indwelling catheters is central to the pathogenesis of infection of both types of catheters. The cornerstone to any preventive strategy of intrava...

Urinary catheter placement is an extremely common medical intervention. It can be used either temporarily, for example to drain a full bladder, to monitor urine output or it can be indwelling for long term drainage. While urinary catheters are a safe medical practice, complications can and do arise from their use and can be a source of morbidity for hospital or nursing home residents. The term ...

The recent studies by Paya et al. (2) concluded that quantitative blood cultures were not useful in diagnosing intravascular-device-related bacteremia associated with arterial, central venous, and pulmonary artery catheters. While obviously more work needs to be done on the value of aspiration through a catheter in the diagnosis of catheterassociated sepsis, a number of studies have found this ...

This study aimed to assess the usefulness of antibiotic prophylaxis with Levofloxacin (LVFX) in short and mediumterm catheterisations. This study was developed to evaluate and confirm the effectiveness and need for prophylaxis in preventing catheter-associated UTIs, using LVFX at a dose of 250 mg administered orally to patients who had been subjected to short and medium-term urinary bladder cat...