News & Updates

Invasive mould diseases (IMD), such as invasive aspergillosis or mucormycosis, present significant diagnostic and management challenges, particularly in high-risk patients. A recent Pfizer-sponsored symposium brought together leading experts to discuss current guideline recommendations, diagnostic strategies, and therapeutic approaches to IMD. Chaired by Dr Asok Kurup, Infectious Diseases Physician and Chair of the Infection Control Committee at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore, the session featured a presentation by Professor Deborah Marriott, Senior Specialist in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, St. Vincent’s Hospital in Australia. The symposium provided practical, evidence-based strategies to improve outcomes for high-risk patients and advance IMD care.

Use of the common heart failure medication sacubitril/valsartan helps reduce cardiotoxicity in high-risk cancer patients undergoing anthracycline therapy, according to the results of the SARAH trial.

Treatment with odevixibat led to rapid and sustained improvements in pruritus and serum bile acid (sBA) levels among patients with Alagille syndrome (ALGS), according to the final data of the phase III ASSERT-extension (ASSERT-EXT) study presented at The Liver Meeting 2024.

At a recent Pfizer-sponsored webinar, Dr Paula Ramirez Galleymore, an Intensive Care Medicine specialist from La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital in Valencia, Spain, addressed the pressing issue of invasive candidiasis in the ICU — often an overlooked but frequent intruder in critical care settings. Galleymore discussed key aspects, including the primary risk factors associated with invasive Candida infections, emphasizing the need for early intervention to improve patient outcomes. She also explored antifungal treatment options, focusing on the clinical efficacy and guideline recommendations for echinocandins.

Endoscopists may unintentionally play down the risks of antiplatelet-related postendoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) bleeding (CSPEB) based on observations of suboptimal holding before higher risk ERCP, reports a study.