Related Articles

Maternal immunization as a strategy to decrease susceptibility to infection in newborn infants.

Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2013 Mar 15;

Authors: Lindsey B, Kampmann B, Jones C

Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Following on from the success of maternal tetanus vaccination, recent research has shown that other vaccines given in pregnancy can protect against vaccine-preventable infections in early infancy. This review will outline these recent developments and highlight the impact on current clinical practice. RECENT FINDINGS: Maternal immunization provides protection to the newborn through the transfer of vaccine-induced IgG across the placenta, a process that is affected by multiple variables. The safety of newly recommended maternal vaccines has been further tested in recent studies. Maternal vaccination against influenza and pertussis is recommended in the United Kingdom and United States, with new studies indicating their efficacy. A number of additional maternal vaccines are also in the pipeline, which could be used to combat neonatal infection. Recent research findings have highlighted some of the reasons for the poor uptake of current recommendations among pregnant women. SUMMARY: Tetanus, influenza and pertussis vaccines are now recommended for use during pregnancy, with new vaccines, such as group B streptococcus and respiratory syncytial virus, being developed to prevent important neonatal infections in the future.

PMID: 23507974 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles

Racial Differences in Antibiotic Prescribing by Primary Care Pediatricians.

Pediatrics. 2013 Mar 18;

Authors: Gerber JS, Prasad PA, Localio AR, Fiks AG, Grundmeier RW, Bell LM, Wasserman RC, Rubin DM, Keren R, Zaoutis TE

Abstract
OBJECTIVE:To determine whether racial differences exist in antibiotic prescribing among children treated by the same clinician.METHODS:Retrospective cohort study of 1 296 517 encounters by 208 015 children to 222 clinicians in 25 practices in 2009. Clinical, antibiotic prescribing, and demographic data were obtained from a shared electronic health record. We estimated within-clinician associations between patient race (black versus nonblack) and (1) antibiotic prescribing or (2) acute respiratory tract infection diagnosis after adjusting for potential patient-level confounders.RESULTS:Black children were less likely to receive an antibiotic prescription from the same clinician per acute visit (23.5% vs 29.0%, odds ratio [OR] 0.75; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.72-0.77) or per population (0.43 vs 0.67 prescriptions/child/year, incidence rate ratio 0.64; 95% CI 0.63-0.66), despite adjustment for age, gender, comorbid conditions, insurance, and stratification by practice. Black children were also less likely to receive diagnoses that justified antibiotic treatment, including acute otitis media (8.7% vs 10.7%, OR 0.79; 95% CI 0.75-0.82), acute sinusitis (3.6% vs 4.4%, OR 0.79; 95% CI 0.73-0.86), and group A streptococcal pharyngitis (2.3% vs 3.7%, OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.55-0.66). When an antibiotic was prescribed, black children were less likely to receive broad-spectrum antibiotics at any visit (34.0% vs 36.9%, OR 0.88; 95% CI 0.82-0.93) and for acute otitis media (31.7% vs 37.8%, OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.68-0.83).CONCLUSIONS:When treated by the same clinician, black children received fewer antibiotic prescriptions, fewer acute respiratory tract infection diagnoses, and a lower proportion of broad-spectrum antibiotic prescriptions than nonblack children. Reasons for these differences warrant further study.

PMID: 23509168 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Prescription Surveillance and Polymerase Chain Reaction Testing to Identify Pathogens during Outbreaks of Infection.

Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:746053

Authors: Sugiura H, Fujimoto T, Sugawara T, Hanaoka N, Konagaya M, Kikuchi K, Hanada E, Okabe N, Ohkusa Y

Abstract
Syndromic surveillance, including prescription surveillance, offers a rapid method for the early detection of agents of bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases. However, it has the disadvantage of not considering definitive diagnoses. Here, we attempted to definitively diagnose pathogens using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) immediately after the prescription surveillance system detected an outbreak. Specimens were collected from 50 patients with respiratory infections. PCR was used to identify the pathogens, which included 14 types of common respiratory viruses and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Infectious agents including M. pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rhinovirus, enterovirus, and parainfluenza virus were detected in 54% of patients. For the rapid RSV diagnosis kit, sensitivity was 80% and specificity was 85%. For the rapid adenovirus diagnosis kit, no positive results were obtained; therefore, sensitivity could not be calculated and specificity was 100%. Many patients were found to be treated for upper respiratory tract infections without the diagnosis of a specific pathogen. In Japan, an outbreak of M. pneumoniae infection began in 2011, and our results suggested that this outbreak may have included false-positive cases. By combining syndromic surveillance and PCR, we were able to rapidly and accurately identify causative pathogens during a recent respiratory infection outbreak.

PMID: 23509772 [PubMed - in process]

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Evaluation of the utility of the Wells score in predicting pulmonary embolism in patients admitted to a spine surgery service.

Hosp Pract (Minneap). 2013 Feb;41(1):122-8

Authors: Wang JH, Christino MA, Thakur NA, Palumbo MA, Daniels AH

Abstract
Study Design: A retrospective medical chart review of 4179 patients admitted to the spine surgery service. Objective: To evaluate the utility of the Wells score in predicting pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients admitted to a spine surgery service. Summary of Background Data: The decision to perform computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) to diagnose PE in patients who have undergone spine surgery requires consideration of multiple factors: false-positive CTPA results may lead to unnecessary anticoagulation treatment, and computed tomography scans are costly and expose patients to ionizing radiation. The Wells score was developed to assign risk categories to patients with suspected PE and thereby indicate the need for CTPA. However, the utility of the Wells score in predicting the likelihood of PE, specifically in spine surgery patients, has not been described to date. We identified all patients who were admitted to the spine surgery service at our institution from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2011 and underwent CTPA. Each patient's CTPA result was classified as positive or negative for PE, and the reason for ordering the CTPA was recorded. The Wells score was calculated retrospectively for each patient, and risk categories were assigned by using the traditional and alternative interpretations of the Wells score. The reason for the CTPA, the Wells score, and Wells risk category were compared for patients who were classified as being positive or negative for PE. Results: Sixty-six of the 4179 patients who were admitted to the spine surgery service underwent CTPA for suspected PE. Nineteen of the 66 patients (28.8%) were diagnosed with acute PE, and the overall PE rate was 0.45% (19 of 4179 patients). The mean Wells score for patients diagnosed with PE was 5.3, whereas the mean score for the remaining patients was 4.9 (P = 0.793). Neither the traditional nor the alternative interpretation of the Wells score was predictive of PE (P = 0.394 and P = 0.178, respectively). Our study examined the utility of the Wells score in predicting PE in spine surgery patients. Conclusion: The results of the CTPA did not show a significant correlation with the Wells score or the reason for the test. Our findings indicate the need to develop a predictive scoring system that assesses the risk of PE and assists in the decision-making process for ordering CTPA in spine surgery patients.

PMID: 23466975 [PubMed - in process]