I got a long missive today about quinolone antibiotics and the harm they can cause. While I do recognize that these antibiotics are overused and can cause a sometimes permanent tendonitis they remain useful drugs and we are stuck with them for better or for worse. As far as a grass-roots movement to remove them from clinical use I don't think that's going to happen. The little secret is we can't really afford to give up a useful set of antibiotics even if we are engendering resistance.

Forget antibiotics to treat the common H. Pylori infection of the stomach: in the future we might be prescribing yogurt. A product found on supermarket shelves may be effective in fighting H. Pylori a bacteria found in the guts of millions of people all over the world. This bacteria has been known to associate with autoimmune problems like low platelets and even a rare lymphoma known as MALT-oma. The probiotic concept is that we need to reregulate the balance of bacteria in our guts to prevent illnesses and there has been some scattered successes in the past.

As if the flies that live near poultry farms didn't have it bad enough comes news that they are probably carrying antibiotic-resistant bacteria. They pick these microbes up from their interactions with antibiotic-fed chickens. http://www.jhsph.edu/publichealthnews/press_releases/2009/graham_flies.h... So for once doctors who love broad spectrum antibiotics the drug companies who push these antibiotics on doctors and mothers worried about ear infections get a pass.

The "xTAG Respiratory Panel" is a new test available to doctors and patients for the rapid identification of respiratory viral infections. The test relies upon advanced DNA technology to identify which one of up to 19 viruses may be responsible for a patient's respiratory symptoms. Samples are obtained using a throat swab but the test requires an advanced technology analyzer to figure out the results. The FDA approved the test in January 2008 and the manufacturer claims that up to 85% of viruses that cause respiratory illness are identified by the technology.

Sara Kenyon from the Reproductive Sciences section Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine and the Health Sciences Department at the University Of Leicester authored two studies namely ORACLE I and ORACLE II with the help of other professors in an endeavor to evaluate the use of antibiotics in pregnant women with either preterm rupture of the membranes (ORACLE I study) or those with spontaneous preterm labour (ORACLE II study). The ORACLE Children Study was a long-term follow-up of these studies which was in two parts viz.

Antibiotics prior to delivery found safe in kids

Reported in the Ob-Gyn news a new retrospective study compares the practice of giving antibiotics prior to incision verse the standard method of giving antibiotics at cord clamp. Researchers reported a reduced rate of infection from 3.9% to 2.2 and 3.6 to 2.5 for endometritis and wound infection respectively. This is statistically significant although it is reported as a 39% reduction but as an overall absolute risk is low.  In the two groups there was no difference in neonatal outcomes.

Reported in the Ob-Gyn news a new retrospective study compares the practice of giving antibiotics prior to incision verse the standard method of giving antibiotics at cord clamp.  They found a reduced rate of infection from 3.9% to 2.2 and 3.6 to 2.5 for endometritis and wound infection respectively.  This is significant although it is reported as a 39% reduction but as an overall absolute risk is low.  In the two groups there was no difference in neonatal outcomes. http://www.obgynnews.com/article/PIIS0029743708705457/fulltext

Snake-derived antibiotic nears testing

Antibiotics prevent recurrence of stage I gastric cancer Lancet study shows excellent efficacy in early-stage disease