Multi-Drug Resistant E. coli Rampant in Nursing and Long-Term Care Facilities

By the bioMérieux Connection Editors The May 2017 issue of the American Journal of Infection Control contained an eye-opening paper on the incidence of antibiotic resistant pathogens in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. “Prevalence of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria among nursing home residents: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” by Sainfer Aliyu et al., selected 12 …

Addressing the Unique Challenges Small Hospitals Face When Implementing Antibiotic Stewardship Programs

By Chris Cook, PharmD, Ph.D. In a follow-up study on antibiotic stewardship at small community hospitals, researchers at Intermountain Healthcare and University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City performed a study to identify how small community hospitals (<200 beds) can implement effective antibiotic stewardship programs. As described by Intermountain Healthcare, “For the 15 month-study, …

Hospitals with Fewer than 200 Beds More Likely to Have Inconsistent Efforts to Combat Antibiotic Resistance, Study Finds

By Chris Cook, PharmD, Ph.D. A group of researchers from Stanford University believes small hospitals in the U.S. need to focus on antibiotic stewardship, based on a research project that found hospitals with 200 beds or fewer were likely to have inconsistent efforts to reduce antibiotics overuse and misuse. “Antibiotic use and misuse is driving …

An Underappreciated Innovation, Zapping Microbes With Lasers Has Helped Identify Pathogens Faster Since 2013

By the bioMérieux Connection Editors In late 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted 510(k) de novo clearance to the first mass spectrometer for identifying disease-causing bacteria and yeast for clinical use in the U.S. market.  The technology is called Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight mass spectrometry, or MALDI-TOF MS, and it uses a …