Infectious Disease

Trimethylamine-N-oxide, TMAO, is a by-product of the metabolic breakdown of certain foods; elevated levels have been correlated with coronary atherosclerosis.

Some of the signs of infection are pathognomonic, but not many, so careful patient evaluation often is needed. This week's photo quiz offers a variety of presentations to test your diagnostic acumen.

Both VRE and vancomycin-sensitive enterococci are considered normal flora in the human intestine.

The FDA today advised physicians prescribing rituximab to screen and monitor all patients taking the drug for evidence of hepatitis B infection.

Escherichia coli resistance to quinolone antibiotics increased 5-fold between 2000 and 2010.

These wounds occurred when this 77-year-old woman fell when chasing her dog. Such wounds-a combination of ecchymoses and erosion caused by blunt and sheering forces on fragile skin-are common in the elderly, even after relatively mild trauma. Simple interventions will promote healing.

A 15-year prospective study shows that although cryoglobulinemic syndrome has no influence on overall survival of hepatitis C patients, it does influence the risk for other comorbidities.

Imipenem/cilastatin may be used in patients who have mild allergy to penicillin.

A large, red, tender plaque developed after a cat bite in a woman with Crohn disease. What now?

IDWeek 2013™ is an annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the HIV Medicine Association, and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.

Influenza infection may contribute to increases in cardiovascular hospitalizations and elevated rates of acute myocardial infarction (MI).

HIV occupational exposure leads to an estimated 1000 HIV infections among healthcare workers every year worldwide.

Spider bite? Virus? Inflammatory disease? Or, something else?

Lumbar puncture in cases of suspected meningitis should be performed before CT scan.

Rhabdomyolysis is linked to infection in up to 31% of cases. However, only 19 cases of rhabdomyolysis related to E coli infection have been reported.

Rashes, like children, come in all shapes and sizes, and they have a variety of causes, ranging from infection to allergic reaction. This week’s photo quiz tests your knowledge of skin conditions in younger patients.

Coinfection with HIV and HCV presents a problem: many of the drugs used routinely to treat HIV have adverse interactions with the newer, and older, treatments for HCV.

In patients with diabetes who do not have foot ulcers, cellulitis is most often caused by Streptococcus and only occasionally by Staphylococcus species.

Respiratory symptoms are a major reason why outpatients seek medical care, and primary care physicians who treat children frequently see pneumonia. This week’s photo essay tests your knowledge of respiratory problems in kids.

Staphylococcal bacteria found in the urine should prompt a search for a primary source of infection.

Probiotic therapy has level 1 evidence for only one condition-acute infectious diarrhea.

This week’s questions cover a range of disorders-from infectious disease to GI problems, to HIV/AIDS. See how well you do . . .

Proton pump inhibitors have been associated with magnesium deficiency, pneumonia, and Clostridium difficile infection.

Previous antibiotic use and hospitalization are well known risk factors for C difficile infection. Are age, PPI use, immunosuppression, and BMI all also risk factors?

Age; proton pump inhibitor us; immunosuppression; BMI: which of these is not a risk factor for Clostridium difficile infection?

Dog Named Spot?-or Baby It's Cold Outside?

Patients with MRSA or MSSA should always be treated for at least 2 weeks with IV antibiotics.

Dramatically elevated liver enzyme elevations in this man with alcoholic cirrhosis and clouded sensorium suggest a hepatocellular rather than an obstructive process.

the dramatic elevation of aminotransferases may be the result of medication toxicity, acute viral hepatitis, or ischemic injury to the liver. Your assessment?

Mycobacterium avium complex enteritis; cytomegalovirus; Whipple disease; sprue: what endoscopic findings reveal the cause of worsening diarrhea in this HIV-infected man with a CD4 cell count of 32/μL?