Antibiotics before infections save lives

sea-maid submitted, created time 3 days 23 hours (www.reuters.com)

Giving antibiotics to patients in intensive care units as a precaution saves lives, according to a major Dutch study published Wednesday.

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: microbiology infections Antibiotics

"Zinc Zipper" Plays Key Role in Hospital-acquired Infections

piggy submitted, created time 1 month 1 day (www.sciencedaily.com)

Hospital-acquired infections that are resistant to traditional antibiotic treatment have become increasingly common in recent years, confounding health care professionals and killing thousands of patients in the U.S. alone.

Now, in studies that could lead to new ways to prevent this growing public health danger, a team of University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers is exploring a “zinc zipper” that holds bacterial cells together and plays a key role in such infections.

Hospital-acquired infections affect about 1

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: antibiotic-resistant bacteria antibiotic resistance biofilms antibiotics zinc bacteria zinc zipper Infections hospital-acquired Infections

A sugar helps E. coli go down

sea-maid submitted, created time 2 months 1 week (www.sciencenews.org)

Sugar present in red meat and dairy found to be a risk factor for E. coli infection.

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The pen is mightier than the infection!

Darkfrog submitted, created time 2 months 2 weeks (well.blogs.nytimes.com)

The pen is mightier than the lawsuit ...at least when it comes to avoiding surgical mistakes. A pen can be used to mark the part of the patient's body meant for surgery. It can be done when the patient is wide awake and able to participate and, if necessary, able to say, "No, not that leg, THAT ONE!!" The phenomenon is called wrong-sided surgery and the solution, it seems, is a laundry pen.

You'd be surprised how much that helps

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: surgery torts lawsuits medical mistakes malpractice infections hospitals surgeons

CDC Campaign Targets MRSA Infections

jerry submitted, created time 3 months 4 weeks (health.usnews.com)

A national campaign to teach parents how to protect kids from skin infections caused by dangerous methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria was launched this week by the US Centers for Disease ...

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Bacteria in Soil Eat Antibiotics

jane2007 submitted, created time 9 months 1 day (online.wsj.com)

Harvard researchers have discovered hundreds of germs in soil that literally gobble up antibiotics, able to thrive with the potent drugs as their sole source of nutrition. But that's not entirely all bad news.

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: antibiotics drugs bacteria biofuels natural toxins bioremediation infections

Score One for the Microbes

Vincent submitted, created time 9 months 3 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

Talk about a low-down, dirty trick. New research reveals that bacteria deploy duplicates of human proteins to jam our body's early warning system. The results might lead to improved treatments for bacterial infections and for diseases such as arthritis that are caused by an overactive immune system.

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Older Antifungal Still a Good Choice Against Tough Infections

annatto submitted, created time 1 year 6 months (www.forbes.com)

A new study shows an older, cheaper medication to treat potentially deadly fungal infections may work just as well as a newer drug in most cases.

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Maggots munch on antibiotic-resistant bacteria