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UPI
6 days ago
- Health
- UPI
Trial shows promise for new bloodborne staph infection treatment
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said a new treatment for bloodborne staph infections showed promise in a clinical trial. File Photo by Tamas Soki/EPA A new way to battle bloodborne staph infections could help save lives while combating the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to new clinical trial results. Two intravenous doses of the antibiotic dalbavancin delivered seven days apart worked just as well as daily IV doses of conventional antibiotics in quelling Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections, researchers reported Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Given the small number of antimicrobial drugs available to treat Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections and the bacteria's growing drug resistance, establishing dalbavancin as a beneficial therapy for these severe infections gives us a vital new alternative to treat them," Dr. John Beigel said in a news release. He's acting director of microbiology and infectious diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. NIAID sponsored and funded the trial, which involved 200 hospitalized adults with complicated staph blood infections treated at 23 medical centers in the U.S. and Canada. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either two doses of dalbavancin or daily IV antibiotics, with overall treatment lasting four to eight weeks. In all, 100 received dalbavancin and the same number had standard antibiotics. Dalbavancin is a relatively recent antibiotic discovery, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May 2014, according to The standard antibiotics used depended on the type of staph a person had. Cefazolin or penicillin were used for regular staph, while vancomycin or daptomycin were implemented against antibiotic-resistant staph, also known as MRSA. Results showed that dalbavancin worked about as well as standard therapy, providing doctors a new option for treating a severe staph infection. "Our findings give patients and health care providers the data to support an extra choice when deciding on treatment for complicated S. aureus bacteremia," lead researcher Dr. Nicholas Turner, an assistant professor at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., said in a news release. What's more, the dalbavancin was easier to deliver. People receiving daily antibiotics needed an implanted catheter that remained in place for the full duration of their treatment -- something that can lead to complications like blood clots and additional infections. By comparison, people receiving dalbavancin only needed a short catheter inserted twice for about an hour each time, researchers said. As a result, side effects like blood clots occurred more often in the standard treatment group compared to the dalbavancin group, researchers found. Serious side effects were about as common with dalbavancin as with standard antibiotics -- 40 cases versus 34 cases, results show. However, severe events leading to treatment discontinuation occurred in 12% of the standard treatment patients compared to 3% of those treated with dalbavancin. Researchers next plan to compare the cost-effectiveness of the two approaches. More information The Cleveland Clinic has more about staph infections. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
UPI
07-08-2025
- Health
- UPI
UCLA study recommends mailing stool test kits for cancer screening
A study conducted by UCLA researchers indicates sending unsolicited stool test kits to people aged 45-49 is the most effective way to increase colon cancer screening. Photo by Tamas Soki/EPA Automatically mailing a stool test kit to people's homes might be the best way to boost colon cancer screening among younger adults, a new study says. More 45- to 49-year-olds went ahead with cancer screening when they received an unsolicited stool test kit in the mail, rather than having to actively opt into screening or choose a test, researchers reported Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Removing the need for patients to actively opt into screening can lead to better outcomes, particularly when trying to engage younger, generally healthy adults who may not yet perceive themselves at risk for cancer," senior researcher Dr. Folasade May said in a news release. She's a gastroenterologist and cancer prevention researcher at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The American Cancer Society lowered its recommended age to begin colon cancer screening from 50 to 45 in 2018, and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force followed suit in 2021, researchers said in background notes. This move has increased the detection of early-stage colon cancers among people 45 to 49, according to ACS-led studies also published Aug. 4 in JAMA. But overall rates of colon cancer screening remain low among that age group, with one recent study finding that fewer than 2% get tested, researchers said. "When national guidance recommended screening adults age 45 to 49 for colorectal cancer for the first time, it wasn't clear how to best reach and screen this newly eligible population," May said. For this study, researchers randomly assigned more than 20,500 UCLA Health system patients in that age group to one of four outreach strategies. One group was asked if they'd like to opt into screening by receiving a mailed stool test, and another if they'd opt into screening with a colonoscopy. A third group was given the choice of opting in with their choice of a stool test or colonoscopy. The final group simply was sent a stool test automatically, without asking whether they'd like to opt into screening. Sending an unsolicited stool test wound up producing the best results, with a screening rate of more than 26%, researchers found. By comparison, only 17% got screened when asked to opt in with their choice of test, 16% to opt in with a mailed stool test, and under 15% to opt in with colonoscopy. Researchers also found that 73% of those with abnormal results on their stool test followed up with a colonoscopy within six months -- a key next step in seeing whether they actually had colon cancer. Although rates were still low even for automatically mailed kits, the approach represents a simple, low-cost step forward in boosting colon cancer screening in this age group, researchers said. "Our study showed that automated outreach can get results quickly and efficiently," May said. "More than 3,800 people were screened in just six months with minimal work required from our busy doctors. That's thousands of opportunities to catch cancer early or prevent it altogether." More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on colon cancer screening. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
