New study shows rise in drug resistance of dangerous infection in US hospitals

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/bc-nss122209.php

Public release date: 23-Dec-2009
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Contact: Kay Campbell
kcampbell@burnesscommunications.com
301-652-1558
Burness Communications
New study shows rise in drug resistance of dangerous infection in US hospitals

Washington, D.C. -- A new study in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology reports a surge in drug-resistant strains of Acinetobacter, a dangerous type of bacteria that is becoming increasingly common in U.S. hospitals. This study is being posted online today and will appear in the journal's February print edition.

Acinetobacter infections attack patients in hospital intensive care units (ICUs) and others and have recently plagued soldiers returning home from the war in Iraq. These infections often appear as severe pneumonias or bloodstream infections, and require strong drugs to be treated, when they can be stopped at all.

Using data from 300 hospitals around the country, researchers at the Extending the Cure project analyzed trends in resistance to imipenem, an antibiotic often reserved as a last-line treatment. The study found that between 1999 and 2006, there was more than a 300% increase in the proportion of Acinetobacter cases resistant to the drug.

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