ID Week Commentary | Dr. Junyan Qu: Real-world Efficacy Comparison of CT vs. CZA in Treating MDR-PA Infections

ID Week Commentary | Dr. Junyan Qu: Real-world Efficacy Comparison of CT vs. CZA in Treating MDR-PA Infections

Multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) are commonly found in bacteria such as Enterobacteriaceae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. In recent years, the emergence and spread of MDRO have posed numerous challenges in clinical practice, with limited treatment options being one of the thorny issues. Beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations are essential in the clinical management of MDRO infections, among which Ceftolozane-Tazobactam (CT) and Ceftazidime-Avibactam (CZA) are frontline drugs for treating Multi-drug Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDR-PA) infections. However, there is a lack of sufficient research data comparing the efficacy of these two drugs. At the recent IDWeek 2023 held in the United States, researchers presented a multicenter observational study (Abstract No: 1109) that compared the efficacy of CT and CZA in treating MDR-PA-induced bacteremia or pneumonia. " Infectious Disease Frontline" invited Dr. Junyan Qu, from West China Hospital of Sichuan University, to introduce and comment on this study.
Dr. Jessica Seidelman: Implementation of a blood culture algorithm in emergency department patients as a diagnostic stewardship intervention

Dr. Jessica Seidelman: Implementation of a blood culture algorithm in emergency department patients as a diagnostic stewardship intervention

Blood culture is one of the most important tests in the clinical microbiology laboratory. Blood culture is the gold standard for diagnosing bloodstream infection and bacteremia. However, in the United States, blood cultures are still performed even for emergency patients with a low probability of bacteremia, which may result in a large waste of resources. At IDWeek 2023, a study reported the implementation of a blood culture algorithm in emergency department patients as a diagnostic stewardship intervention.