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New Resource Web Site Provides Clinicians Practical, Up-to-Date Information on Treating Resistant Infections in the Hospital and Community Settings |
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January 5, 2008 – For Immediate Release
MDROSolutions.com
New Resource Web Site Provides Clinicians
Practical, Up-to-Date Information on Treating
Resistant Infections in the Hospital and Community Settings
Presented by
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
BALTIMORE, MD – Infectious disease experts at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine launched a Web site to help clinicians treating patients with pathogens associated with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). Leading experts in the field have taken joint action against the rising prevalence of MDROs and as their first step, the team has launched a new Web site, MDROSolutions.com. This Web site will serve as an easily accessible resource and will specifically address the increasing prevalence and incidence of MDROs in hospitals and community practice settings.
“There are increasing problems with antibiotic resistance both in community-acquired infections and in nosocomial infections. These are becoming increasingly difficult to manage,” said John Bartlett, MD, a Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who steered the site development. “There is also a newly recognized form of community-acquired resistant bacteria in patients who have recent contact with the healthcare system and have acquired infections involving pathogens that are traditionally found primarily in the hospital setting. The purpose of our program is to provide guidance in the recognition and management of these infections,” he said.
New guidelines to address clinical pathways for appropriate and successful treatment are anticipated for release in late 2009. In the interim, the following practice recommendations have been issued by SHEA and the IDSA:
• Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals
• Strategies to Prevent Central Line–Associated Bloodstream Infections in Acute Care Hospitals
• Strategies to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in Acute Care Hospitals
• Strategies to Prevent Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections in Acute Care Hospitals
• Strategies to Prevent Surgical Site Infections in Acute Care Hospitals
• Strategies to Prevent Transmission of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Acute Care Hospitals
• Strategies to Prevent Clostridium difficile Infections in Acute Care Hospitals
MDROSolutions.com provides clinicians information on these practice recommendations, appropriate treatments, and application in everyday practice.
“Our goal is to offer clinicians guidance for treating patients with pathogens associated with MDRO with the most effective, up-to-date information possible, and to focus attention on the recognition and management of community-acquired pathogens that are resistant to the commonly-used antibiotics,” said George Karam, MD, Professor of Medicine at Louisiana State University School of Medicine.
Using the new Web site, physicians can:
• Recognize the prevalence and incidence of the epidemic of community-acquired and healthcare-associated MDROs.
• Differentiate the clinical presentation and sensitivity patterns of community-acquired versus healthcare-associated resistant infections.
• Compare and contrast infection control practices used to reduce the incidence of MDROs by healthcare providers in both the community and hospital settings.
• Develop detailed diagnosis and treatment plans for patients undergoing guidance for MDROs.
MDROSolutions.com content is developed and vetted by a steering committee of infectious disease experts: John Bartlett, MD (Johns Hopkins); Marin Kollef, MD (Washington University, St. Louis); George Karam, MD (Louisiana State University); Lena Napolitano, MD, (University of Michigan); Peter Linden, MD (University of Pittsburgh); and Rob Owens, PharmD (Maine Medical Center). Each member of the steering committee has a specific area of responsibility, including challenges of increasing antibiotic resistance, risk factors for infection, consequences of bacterial evolution, and optimal empiric antimicrobial choices for patients with risk factors for infection due to MDROs.
MDROSolutions.com is particularly timely because healthcare settings are facing new scrutiny and regulatory hurdles by both government and public agencies. For example, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has recently implemented a policy to ensure optimal patient outcomes to hospitals for certain conditions such as healthcare-associated MRSA, given the rationale that these “never events” should not happen if appropriate identification and treatment takes place. Confronted with these challenges, providers require new knowledge and instruction on the application of guidelines to improve the quality of care specific to MDROs.
MDROSolutions.com will offer providers the most up-to-date guidance for treating patients with risk factors for MDRO infections, including recognizing the prevalence and incidence of the epidemic of community-acquired and healthcare-associated MDROs; comparing and contrasting infection control practices used to reduce the incidence of MDROs; and developing detailed diagnosis and treatment plans for patients with MDROs. As an added benefit to providers who visit the Web site and participate in the educational modules.
The availability of MDROSolutions.com is made possible by an educational grant provided to The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine by Pfizer Inc.
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CME activity.
About The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
In July 2008, U.S. News & World Report ranked The Johns Hopkins Hospital #1 among American hospitals for the 18th consecutive year. In 2006, The Johns Hopkins Office of CME received “Accreditation with Commendation” for 6 years, the highest ranking issued by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). Hopkins CME has been recognized as a center for “Best Practices” and as a resource to ACCME-accredited providers. For more information, please visit http://www.hopkinscme.edu or contact Victor Marrow, PhD, Executive Director, CME’s Office of Funded Programs at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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National Experts Meet to Address Treating Resistant Infections in the Hospital and Community Settings |
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December 1, 2008 – For Immediate Release National Experts Meet to Address Treating Resistant Infections in the Hospital and Community Settings
Presented by
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
BALTIMORE, MD – Infectious disease experts gathered at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to discuss current challenges and offer solutions that will help clinicians treating patients with pathogens associated with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). With expertise in several fields, these leaders have taken joint action against the rising prevalence of MDROs. In the near term, the group will provide practical, up-to-date information, best-practices, guidelines and other materials that will immediately help clinicians in daily practice – both in the community and in healthcare settings.
“There are increasing problems with antibiotic resistance both in community-acquired infections and in nosocomial infections. These are becoming increasingly difficult to manage,” said John Bartlett, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins, who chaired the meeting. There is also a newly recognized form of community-acquired resistant bacteria in patients who have recent contact with the healthcare system and have acquired infections involving pathogens that are traditionally found primarily in the hospital setting. The purpose of this meeting, therefore, is to provide guidance in the recognition and management of these infections.
New guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America are anticipated for release in summer 2009, addressing clinical pathways for appropriate and successful treatment of MDROs, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), surgical site infections, and Clostridium difficile. “Our goal is to offer clinicians guidance for treating patients with pathogens associated with MDRO with the most effective, up-to-date information possible, and to focus attention on the recognition and management of community-acquired pathogens that are resistant to the commonly-used antibiotics,” said George Karam, MD, Professor of Medicine at Louisiana State University School of Medicine.
The committee includes the following infectious disease experts: John Bartlett, MD (Johns Hopkins); Marin Kollef, MD (Washington University in St. Louis); George Karam, MD (Louisiana State University); Lena Napolitano, MD, (University of Michigan); Peter Linden, MD (University of Pittsburgh); and Rob Owens, PharmD (Maine Medical Center). Each member of the steering committee has a specific area of responsibility, including challenges of increasing antibiotic resistance, risk factors for infection, consequences of bacterial evolution, and optimal empiric antimicrobial choices for patients with risk factors for infection due to MDROs.
Addressing these issues is particularly timely because healthcare settings are facing new scrutiny and regulatory hurdles by both government and public agencies. For example, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has recently implemented a policy to ensure optimal patient outcomes to hospitals for certain conditions such as hospital-acquired surgical site infections and healthcare-associated MRSA, given the rationale that these “never events” should not happen if appropriate identification and treatment takes place. Confronted with these challenges, providers require new knowledge and instruction on the application of guidelines to improve the quality of care specific to MDROs.
Funding support for the meeting and its subsequent enduring materials came from an educational grant provided to The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine by Pfizer Inc.
About The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
In July 2008, U.S. News & World Report ranked The Johns Hopkins Hospital #1 among American hospitals for the 18th consecutive year. In 2006, The Johns Hopkins Office of CME received “Accreditation with Commendation” for 6 years, the highest ranking issued by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). Hopkins CME has been recognized as a center for “Best Practices” and as a resource to ACCME-accredited providers. For more information, please visit http://www.hopkinscme.edu or contact Victor Marrow, PhD, Executive Director, CME’s Office of Funded Programs at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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