What every physician needs to know: As of 2015, 38.8 million individuals around the globe were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). For many of these patients, the advent of effective combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has proved lifesaving, helping to close the survival gap between people living with HIV (PLWH) and the general population. These…
OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Sinusitis is defined as inflammation of the lining of the sinus cavity. The term rhinosinusitis is often used as the mucosa of the nasal cavity is nearly always involved. In the United States over 15% of the population is affected by sinusitis resulting in over $5.8 billion in…
What every physician needs to know: Aspergillus fumigatus is a ubiquitous mold in the environment. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a disease that results from a hypersensitivity response to aspergillus in the airways. ABPA is part of a spectrum of respiratory disorders that can be caused by Aspergillus. First described by Hinson and colleagues in…
OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has sepsis? What should you expect to find? Definition Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by an abnormal host response to infection. A subset of patients with sepsis will show signs of circulatory and metabolic abnormalities that can significantly increase…
OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Subdural empyema is a localized collection of pus contained between the dura and arachnoid. Accounting for 15 to 20% of all intracranial infections, subdural empyema is the most common intracranial infection associated with sinusitis. Headache and fever are common early symptoms given the ability of the infection to…
What every physician needs to know: Infections after lung transplant are often challenging to diagnose and treat because of several complicating factors, including more severe presentations of common infections resulting from immunosuppression, uncommon infections due to immunosuppression, concomitant allograft dysfunction or rejection-mimicking infection, and significant interactions between anti-infectives and immunosuppressant medications. The origin of infections…
OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has mastoiditis? What are the typical findings for this disease? Mastoiditis is inflammation of the mastoid air cells, air-filled mucosal lined spaces within the temporal bone. Mastoiditis can be acute or chronic, based on the severity of disease and type and time-course of…
What are the key principles of preventing gram negative bacteria – Neisseria meningitides? Occupational exposure Occupationally acquire meningococcal disease outside of the laboratory is rarely reported, perhaps in part because of rapid use of PEP. To decrease the risk for infectious disease transmission to health-care personnel, the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee recommends use…
OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has congenital diaphragmatic hernia? What are the typical findings for this disease? Diagnosis Most cases of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) are diagnosed prenatally (greater than 50%). Diagnosis is made on either routine prenatal ultrasound or as part of the work up for polyhydramnios.…
1. Description of the problem Although this chapter emphasizes opportunistic infections, any agent that can infect a normal host can affect the non-transplant patient on immunosuppressive medications. Pulmonary infections with respiratory compromise There is significant overlap among different pathogens. Hypoxemia and tachypnea are hallmark symptoms of respiratory compromise. Conventional pyogenic organisms remain the most common…
