Cefepime versus ceftazidime for treatment of pneumonia.

Consecutive patients with pneumonia, treated with cefepime (n = 66) or ceftazidime (n = 132), were evaluated in a retrospective, observational study. There was no significant difference between the two treatment groups with respect to age, underlying diseases, acute physical and chronic health evaluation score, intensive care unit admission, presence of sepsis, community or hospital acquisition, causative organism, duration of therapy, death, cure or improvement in infection, adverse events, superinfections, presence of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) and resistance to therapy. Post-therapy hospitalization (days) and vancomycin co-administration were significantly lower, and time to vancomycin initiation significantly higher, in the cefepime compared with the ceftazidime group. The results suggest a trend towards less resistance on therapy, less VRE, reduced vancomycin use and shorter post-therapy hospitalization in patients treated with cefepime compared with ceftazidime. The clinical outcomes for hospitalized patients treated for serious pneumonia were similar between the two groups.

Superficial fungal infection of the skin. Where and how it appears help determine therapy.

Superficial fungal infections of the skin are a common presentation in clinical practice. Any skin surface, the mucous membranes, nail plates, and nail beds can be affected. Tinea pedis is the most common fungal infection and may affect up to 70% of the adult population worldwide. Ubiquitous candidal organisms are found in the oral flora of many healthy persons and result in infection in the presence of certain host factors or immunodeficiency disorders. Onychomycosis has had an increasing incidence worldwide, and it now accounts for almost half of all nail disorders. These and many other infections can have varying presentations as well as features that resemble nonfungal disorders. Therefore, it is important that primary care physicians are familiar with the many cutaneous fungal infections and their differential diagnosis to ensure that appropriate therapy is selected.

Evaluation of clinical practice guidelines on outcome of infection in patients in the surgical intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, clinical practice guidelines were developed by a multidisciplinary team for patients with infections admitted to a surgical intensive care unit (ICU). DESIGN: A 51-day baseline audit period (Phase I) in a 20-bed (private rooms) surgical ICU was compared with a 34-day period in the same unit after implementation of the guidelines (Phase II). PATIENTS: Phase I included 182 patients (670 patient days), and Phase II included 139 patients (427 patient days). RESULTS: There was no significant difference between patients in the Phase I and Phase II groups regarding age (65.4/19-95 vs. 64.8/18-90 yrs), gender (56% male vs. 55% male), severity of illness (mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III, 38 vs. 39.1), total infections (respiratory, 8% vs. 4%; urinary tract, 15% vs. 4%; wound, 4% vs. 3%; skin/soft tissue, 3% vs. 7%; sepsis, 5% vs. 3%; intra-abdominal, 9% vs. 17%), and no infection (64% vs. 67%). Clinical outcomes of patients with infections in the Phase I group compared with those in the Phase II group were as follows: clinical improvement or cure, 64% vs. 76%; persistent infection, 17% vs. 11%; clinical failure, 0 vs. 2%; and death, 18% vs. 7% (p = NS). When patients with infections were compared, death rates were 20% in the Phase I group and 5.6% in the Phase II group (p = .02). After implementation of the clinical pathways, antibiotic costs were reduced from $676.54 per patient to $157.88 per patient (p = .001). Length of stay in the ICU was 3.7 days in the Phase I trial and a mean of 3 days in the Phase II trial (p = NS). Specimens of Escherichia coli demonstrated a trend toward a decreased resistance to all antibiotics and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to ciprofloxacin and aminoglycosides (p = NS). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the use of clinical practice guidelines for patients who were admitted to the surgical ICU was shown to reduce costs, without adversely affecting patients' outcomes. This study has important implications for the use of clinical practice guidelines for the management of patients with infections who are admitted to surgical ICUs.