News • Molecular test for bacteria response
New method rapidly reveals antibiotic resistance
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a molecular method able to detect whether or not bacteria respond to antibiotics within minutes.
Antibiotics
News • Breast cancer
Study shows: Association between antibiotics and an increased risk of death after breast cancer
Women with triple-negative breast cancer who received multiple antibiotic prescriptions within three years after their cancer diagnosis were more likely to experience disease recurrence and to die from their cancer.
News • The "Rx" factor
GP burnout linked to higher opioid and antibiotic prescribing
When in doubt, write a prescription? New research links burnout in GPs to higher antibiotic and strong opioid prescribing, especially in more deprived areas of the North of England.
News • Seniors’ use of antibiotics halved
Study shows benefits of antibiotic stewardship in UTI management
An international study has shown how a decision tool for health professionals has proved capable of halving the use of antibiotics against urinary tract infections while maintaining patient safety.
Sponsored • Orthopaedics
Hip arthroplasty for femoral neck fractures – but without the complications
Arthroplasty for femoral neck fractures has seen enormous progress in recent years, but complications due to infections are still a major problem. With good preparation and the right technique, however, orthopaedic surgeons can take away much of the horror of this scenario.
News • A chatbot to replace GPs?
ChatGPT does a surprisingly solid job at prescribing the right meds, but...
Researchers from the University of Liverpool have tested whether the AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT could be used to make decisions about prescribing patients with antibiotics.
News • Antibacterial compound research
Developing antibiotics that target multiple-drug-resistant bacteria
Researchers have designed and synthesized analogs of a new antibiotic that is effective against multidrug-resistant bacteria, opening a new front in the fight against these infections.
Sponsored • Periprosthetic protection
Bone cements containing antibiotics for infection prophylaxis – quo vadis?
Periprosthetic infections and revisions are on the rise in Germany and worldwide, with significant consequences for affected patients as well as for the healthcare systems. Precisely because the number of patients at higher risk of infection in arthroplasty continues to rise, attention is increasingly focused on how this dreaded complication can be avoided.
News • Resistance building prevention
New test to reduce antibiotics in primary care
Antibiotic prescribing in primary care could be monitored using health insurance data. And reduced with a simple test.
News • Streptococcus pneumoniae
Technique helps discover whether bacteria are antibiotic resistant
A new study could one day help health workers determine whether bacteria of the species Streptococcus pneumoniae, which cause meningitis, are resistant to antibiotics.
Sponsored • Orthopaedics
The fragile patient in arthroplasty: Sustainably lower risk of infection in hip fractures
Arthroplasty treatment of fragile patients is a major challenge faced by orthopaedic surgeons. The patients, often geriatric, come with a variety of risk factors and comorbidities that can negatively impact the success of an arthroplasty procedure.
News • Extended treatment
New trial doubles down on antibiotics against life threatening infections
Hospital patients who develop infections where 10% of sufferers die will be offered double the traditional course of antibiotics in a new trial.
News • Model to predict efficacy
Phage therapy: a viable alternative to antibiotics?
Bacteriophages – viruses that kill bacteria – could be a solution for fighting antibiotic-resistant pathogens, French researchers have developed a model to better predict their efficacy.
News • Elusive variants
Rare genetic markers of drug-resistant tuberculosis identified
The search for rare mutations in bacterial genome could lead to better diagnostics and treatments – reducing morbidity caused by the deadly disease.
Article • Antimicrobial resistance development
AMR and climate change: a worrying dual threat to global health
Climate change and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are forming an alarming alliance: Global warming creates new breeding grounds for resistant bacteria. A serious and very real threat to public health – but not quite the doomsday scenario some might make it out to be, says Prof Sabiha Essack from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa.
Article • Drug dose optimisation
Antibiotics: no more ‘dosing in the dark’
Finding the right antibiotic dose is akin to a Goldilocks problem: give too little, and the infection will persist; too much, and side-effects will override the benefits of the therapy. To get it “just right”, Prof Dr Birgit Koch talks about dosing optimisation in the clinical setting.
News • Identifying antimicrobials
Automated CAST-R system helps to fight blood infections
When treating acute infections, health care providers must quickly identify the best antibiotics for fighting the infection. An automated system provides swift, accurate results for determining the best antibiotics at the right dose.
News • Bacterial protection strategy
Protective 'chain mail' of C.difficile revealed
A newly discovered structure of chain-mail may explain the success of C.difficile at defending itself against antibiotics and immune system molecules.
Sponsored • Orthopaedics
Periprosthetic joint infection: a complex issue
Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) can be an enormous challenge for orthopaedists and trauma surgeons. Antibiotic-loaded bone cement is an important element in a prevention strategy.
News • Before clinical use of antibiotics
Superbug MRSA arose in hedgehogs
A type of the antibiotic resistant superbug MRSA arose in nature long before the use of antibiotics in humans and livestock, which has traditionally been blamed for its emergence.
News • Finding solutions
$ 1.8 million to stop AMR
Experts predict that without intervention, the problem of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections could be catastrophic by 2050, killing nearly 10 million people each year.
News • Combined with antibiotics
Bacteria-killing viruses to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Researchers have found a way to defeat the multi-resistant bacterium Mycobacterium abscessus, a relative of the causes of tuberculosis and leprosy.
News • Orthopedy
Antimicrobial coating for implants prevents infections
Customizable to individual patients and requiring less than 10 minutes to prepare and use, new surgical implant coating prevented 100% of infections in mice.
Article • AMR Insights platform
Antibiotic resistance: a global problem in urgent need of solutions
Antibiotics have been at the heart of modern healthcare since the 1950s. They are prescribed prior to an operation to minimise the risk of infection after the operation. Or antibiotics are prescribed to fight an infection. This practice, which might seem straightforward at first glance, has proven to cause a number of problems itself: Over the last twenty years, it has become increasingly clear…
News • Bacteriophage
Trained viruses fight antibiotic resistance
A new project led by University of California San Diego Biological Sciences graduate student Joshua Borin has provided evidence that phages that undergo special evolutionary training increase their capacity to subdue bacteria.
