(Press-News.org) ARLINGTON, VA, May 21, 2013—The Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS) today released its June issue, which includes a consensus statement of the global Sentinel Project on Pediatric Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis. It establishes standardized definitions, measurements, and other key attributes that will effect research. This is the first step as the group of international stakeholders collaborate to raise visibility and share evidence and resources that can improve children's access to prompt and effective treatment.
Consensus Statement on Research Definitions for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Children
"Colonization Pressure"(CP) is one predictor of healthcare associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. It is a gauge of the proportion of patients on a given unit colonized during a defined period. As new strains of MRSA emerge outside the healthcare environment, Rodriguez, et al, hypothesized that CP would also be a good measurement tool for households, where S aureus infections cluster, and that cases with a higher baseline household colonization pressure (HHCP) would be at greater risk for persistent S aureus colonization and recurrent S aureus skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI). They conducted an individual vs. household decolonization intervention study for pediatric patients with community-onset SSTI and colonization. Patients colonized or infected with either MRSA or Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) were eligible, and the team shared decolonization strategies with the households.
The team evaluated 92 cases and 296 of their household contacts quarterly for a year. They found that high MRSA HHCP is associated with persistent MRSA colonization in children. Surprisingly, although cases with household contacts that experienced an SSTI in the past year had a higher baseline S aureus HHCP than those without that history, the team did not find a relationship between baseline S aureus HHCP and subsequent SSTI. The team posits that because they were educating about and encouraging decolonization efforts simultaneously, the success of that program may have masked their ability to find a connection.
HHCP may be a useful tool to predict future MRSA colonization, and identify families at higher MRSA risk, which may benefit from targeted eradication interventions.
Measurement and Impact of Staphylococcus aureus Colonization Pressure in Households
Collier et al, underscore the importance of vaccination in an article describing a 2011 measles outbreak in Indiana. The onset occurred when one unvaccinated person spent a year in Indonesia, contracted the disease, and became ill on the airplane returning to the US. Indiana State Department of Health officials spent 960 personnel hours and more than $30,000 (not including direct patient care expenses or resources spent by local health departments) to contain the contagion, the second largest US outbreak of 2011.
After outreach to the community (workplace and social settings), airline passengers, and healthcare facilities where the source had sought treatment, officials determined 868 people were exposed. Of those, 38 suspected measles cases were identified and 14 confirmed. Thirteen of these cases occurred among unvaccinated members of one extended family, one a 32-week pregnant woman who was hospitalized. The remaining victim was a 23-month old child who was exposed at a party.
Although measles endemic to the US was declared eliminated in 2000, it is important to note that the disease has re-emerged in Europe and remains in other parts of the globe, including widespread attacks in Africa. The authors stress the need for vaccination before traveling. They recommend that healthcare facilities require proof of measles immunity as a condition of employment, and that physicians inquire about recent travel and immunization when evaluating patients with measles-like symptoms.
Measles Outbreak Associated With International Travel, Indiana, 2011
This issue of JPIDS also includes:
Update From the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
Significance of Negative Cultures in the Treatment of Acute Hematogenous Bone and
Joint Infections in Children
Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Among HIV/HCV-Coinfected
Women
The Prevalence of Disclosure of HIV Status to HIV-Infected Children in Western Kenya
Editorial Commentary: Disclosure of HIV Status to HIV-Infected Children in Areas With
High HIV Prevalence
Serum Concentrations of Mannan-Binding Lectin (MBL) and MBL-Associated Serine Protease-2 and the Risk of Adverse Events in Pediatric Patients With Cancer and Fever in Neutropenia
Implications of Age-Dependent Immune Responses to Enterovirus 71 Infection for Disease Pathogenesis and Vaccine Design
Gastric Aspirate Yield For Children With Suspected Pulmonary Tuberculosis
Bacillary Angiomatosis in Patients With Cancer: A Pediatric Case Report and a Review of the Literature
Acyclovir Dosing in the Neonatal Period and Beyond
Letter to the Editor: It Takes an Epidemic to Move a Village: Severe Pertussis Disease in Infants in the 21st Century
###
Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
The quarterly Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS) represents the spectrum of peer-reviewed, scientific and clinical information on perinatal, childhood, and adolescent infectious diseases.
The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS) is the world's largest professional organization of experts in the care and prevention of infectious diseases in children. PIDS membership encompasses leaders across the global scientific and public health spectrum, including clinical care, advocacy, academics, government, and the pharmaceutical industry. From fellowship training to continuing medical education, research, regulatory issues and guideline development, PIDS members are the core professionals advocating for the improved health of children with infectious diseases both nationally and around the world, participating in critical public health and medical professional advisory committees that determine the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, immunization practices in children, and the education of pediatricians. For more information, visit http://www.pids.org.
JPIDS: Releases consensus statement on research definitions for drug-resistant TB in children
2013-05-21
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Single-cell transfection tool enables added control for biological studies
2013-05-21
Northwestern University researchers have developed a new method for delivering molecules into single, targeted cells through temporary holes in the cell surface. The technique could find applications in drug delivery, cell therapy, and related biological fields.
Bulk electroporation — a technique used to deliver molecules into cells through reversible nanopores in the cell membrane that are caused by exposing them to electric pulses — is an increasingly popular method of cell transfection. (Cell transfection is the introduction of molecules, such as nucleic acids or proteins, ...
Tiny, implantable coil promises hope for emphysema patients
2013-05-21
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA ─ A small, easily implantable device called the Lung Volume Reduction Coil (LVRC) may play a key role in the treatment of two types of emphysema, according to a study conducted in Europe. Results of the study indicate the beneficial effects of the device persist more than a year after initial treatment.
The study will be presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference.
"LVRC treatment results in significant and clinically relevant improvements in lung function, ability to exercise and quality of life for patients with emphysema," said ...
Exposure to traffic pollution increases asthma severity in pregnant women
2013-05-21
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA ─ Air pollutants from traffic are associated with increased asthma severity levels in pregnant asthmatic women, according to a new study.
"Air pollution is a known trigger for asthma symptoms," said lead author Janneane Gent, PhD, Research Scientist in Epidemiology (Environmental Health) at the Yale School of Public Health. "In our study, exposures were assessed using a sophisticated air pollution modeling system (Community Multiscale Air Quality, CMAQ) that permits community-level estimates (i.e., close to where the subject resides) instead ...
Study finds air pollution and noise pollution increase cardiovascular risk
2013-05-21
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA ─ Both fine-particle air pollution and noise pollution may increase a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to German researchers who have conducted a large population study, in which both factors were considered simultaneously.
"Many studies have looked at air pollution, while others have looked at noise pollution," said study leader Barbara Hoffmann, MD, MPH, a professor of environmental epidemiology at the IUF Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine in Germany. "This study looked at both at the same ...
Prenatal exposure to traffic is associated with respiratory infection in young children
2013-05-21
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA ─ Living near a major roadway during the prenatal period is associated with an increased risk of respiratory infection developing in children by the age of 3, according to a new study from researchers in Boston.
"The connection between in utero and early life cigarette smoke exposure and adverse infant respiratory outcomes is well-established, but the relation of prenatal ambient air pollution to risk of infant respiratory infection is less well-studied," said lead author Mary Rice, MD, a pulmonary and critical care fellow at Massachusetts ...
Early childhood respiratory infections may explain link between analgesics and asthma
2013-05-21
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA ─ A new study conducted by Boston researchers reports that the link between asthma and early childhood use of acetaminophen or ibuprofen may be driven by underlying respiratory infections that prompt the use of these analgesics, rather than the drugs themselves.
The results of the new study will be presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference.
Analgesics like ibuprofen and acetaminophen are routinely given to treat fever in infants, and several studies have shown a link between the use of analgesics during infancy and the subsequent ...
Combined wood and tobacco smoke exposure increases risk and symptoms of COPD
2013-05-21
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA ─ People who are consistently exposed to both wood smoke and tobacco smoke are at a greater risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and for experiencing more frequent and severe symptoms of the disease, as well as more severe airflow obstruction, than those who are exposed to only one type of smoke, according to the results of a new population-based study conducted by researchers in Colombia.
The results of the study will be presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference.
"Although previous studies have shown ...
May/June 2013 Annals of Family Medicine tip sheet
2013-05-21
Much of the May/June 2013 issue of Annals of Family Medicine and the entirety of an accompanying supplement published in partnership with the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality are about changing primary care practice. Practice transformation on a large scale toward the patient-centered medical home model of care is a cornerstone of health care reform efforts in the United States, and the research and commentary in this issue can serve as a roadmap to achieve practice transformation. Not only do the articles address the opportunities, challenges, costs, processes ...
Whole-cell vaccine was more effective than acellular vaccine during California pertussis outbreak
2013-05-21
OAKLAND, Calif., May 20, 2013 — Whole-cell pertussis vaccines were more effective at protecting against pertussis than acellular pertussis vaccines during a large recent outbreak, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published in Pediatrics.
Whole-cell pertussis vaccines, also called DTwP, were available from the 1940s to 1990s, but were associated with safety concerns that ultimately led to the development of acellular pertussis vaccines, which are also called DTaP. By the late 1990s, the United States had switched from whole-cell to acellular vaccines for all ...
Principles of locomotion in confined spaces could help robot teams work underground
2013-05-21
Future teams of subterranean search and rescue robots may owe their success to the lowly fire ant, a much-despised insect whose painful bites and extensive networks of underground tunnels are all-too-familiar to people living in the southern United States.
By studying fire ants in the laboratory using video tracking equipment and X-ray computed tomography, researchers have uncovered fundamental principles of locomotion that robot teams could one day use to travel quickly and easily through underground tunnels. Among the principles is building tunnel environments that ...