News & Updates

Antimicrobial resistance is a global crisis. In 2019, antimicrobial-resistant bacterial pathogens directly caused 1.27 million deaths worldwide. [Lancet 2022;399:629-655] In particular, carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria, including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii cause infections that are particularly difficult to treat. This was the main focus of the Pfizer-organized Meet-the-expert session with Professor Yehuda Carmeli, Professor of Medicine at Sackler Medical School, Tel Aviv University, and Founder and Head of Israeli National Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Israel. Dr Lee Tau Hong, infectious disease physician at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore, chaired the session.

Use of dolutegravir (DTG) proves to be effective and safe in children and adolescents living with HIV (CALHIV) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), as shown in a study.

Patients with persistent depressive or cognitive symptoms after an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection have elevated gliosis – a secondary event to brain injury – and inflammation as shown in a case-control study.

A territory-wide, retrospective cohort study in Hong Kong has shown that molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir are effective in reducing the risks of hospitalization and inpatient disease progression among older patients residing in nursing homes.

Critically ill patients with sepsis or septic shock who use ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) do not seem to experience improvement in shock severity and resolution, reveals a recent study. However, they have a higher chance of being extubated and not needing mechanical ventilation (MV) on the third day of admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).