INTRODUCTION Osteoporosis has become a condition of considerable concern as the proportion of the population over 65 years of age increases and the risk of fracture rises accordingly. Osteoporosis is defined by the US National Institutes of Health as “a skeletal disorder characterized by compromised bone strength and predisposing a person to an increased risk [...]
Combination PI-Containing Regimen for HIV-Infected, Treatment-Experienced Patients Speaker: Robert Schooley, MD, Head of Infectious Diseases and Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado. Based on a preliminary 24-week analysis, amprenavir 600 mg (Agenerase, GlaxoSmithKline)/ritonavir 100 mg (Norvir drug, Abbott) twice daily might be a better treatment regimen than amprenavir 900 mg/ritonavir 100 mg twice [...]
Speaker: Steven P. LaRosa, MD, Associate Staff Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio. Drotreogin alfa activated (Xigris, Lilly), a recombinant form of protein C recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of severe sepsis, markedly reduces the risk of all-cause mortality in adult patients, according to findings from the PROWESS [...]
Speaker: Joseph L. Gugliotta, MD, Infectious Disease Specialist, Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington, New Jersey. The combination of quinupristin/dalfopristin (Synercid, Aventis) and vancomycin (Vancocin, Lilly) proved to be highly effective in the treatment of bacteremias caused by oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA) strains, demonstrating enhanced bactericidal activity compared with either antibiotic tested alone.
Short-Duration Antimicrobial Therapy for AECB Speaker: Marcus J. Zervos, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, and William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan. Five-day therapy with oral telithromycin (Ketek, Aventis), a new ketolide antimicrobial agent, is as effective as standard 10-day treatment with comparators in adult patients with acute [...]
Several points related to the recent influenza vaccine delays and the influenza vaccine process are worth emphasizing. First, the overall process has worked well for decades despite its many complexities and “fragilities.” Although the recent delays highlight the need to take certain actions to strengthen the system, such major disruptions have been exceptional and the [...]
The public and private sectors both play extensive and critical roles in the influenza vaccine process. Primary responsibilities of the public sector include monitoring changes among circulating influenza viruses, annually updating the vaccine strains, monitoring the vaccine’s effectiveness and coverage rates, and developing recommendations to guide vaccine use. Primary responsibilities of the private sector include [...]
