Author Archives: mdjkf
World Antibiotic Awareness Week at HNE Local Health District 18/11/25
Please join us! Tuesday zoom link Wednesday zoom link Thursday zoom link Friday afternoon registration link
Can I safely delabel a patient with a penicillin “allergy” history? The HNE PEN-fast scoring approach
Further to Professor Jason Trubiano’s instructive post last year concerning penicillin allergy and its risks of recurrence, here is the HNE approach to using the PEN_fast score (that his team developed and validated). This approach is increasingly used across Australia and the world to screen patients and determine whether an allergy alert can be safely […]
Antibiograms for Hunter New England Region 2024
The collated antibiograms by region for 2024, have been compiled by Dr Rob George, Pathology NSW are now available on the HNE intranet at this location. This is the summary report: HNE_antibiogram_-_2024
Therapeutic Guidelines: Antibiotic (eTG) update from March 2025 – my practice-changing take homes
Guess posting from Dr Catherine Berry, Antimicrobial Stewardship Physician, Hunter New England Health, Staff Specialist, Infectious Diseases, John Hunter Hospital, Conjoint Lecturer, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Newcastle . This update has been a big one – the first substantial update since 2019. There is a lot to take in and a comprehensive […]
Understanding Antibiotic Spectrum and Efficacy: A practical guide for JMOs
Guest posting: Dr Eliza Milliken, Infectious Diseases Physician, Clinical Pharmacology Fellow, Chair District Quality Use of Medicines, Hunter New England Health Key takeaways Antibiotics are selective chemotherapeutic agents—cytotoxic to bacteria, not humans Antibiotic efficacy is governed by a complex interplay of host pharmacokinetics and organism pharmacodynamics It’s not just about T>MIC or half-life—dosing needs context […]
Non-pharmacological prevention of UTI for older people: what is the evidence base?
Guest posting: Dr Penny Webster, Staff Specialist Geriatric Medicine, Hunter New England Health Hydration Increasing fluid intake (by 1.5 litres per day) was shown in an RCT to reduce the incidence of urinary infections in premenopausal women (Hooton et al 2018 JAMA Int Med). The effect size was considerable – during the 12-months, the mean […]
Top 10 Infectious Diseases Papers 2024 – Prof. Josh Davis
Guest posting: Professor Joshua Davis, University of Newcastle, Menzies School of Health Research and John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, NSW, Australia Again, here is his thought-provoking survey of the medical ID literature. These were the criteria for his (personal) choice: COVID papers excluded Published during 2024 Deal with diagnosis or treatment of infectious diseases Relevant to […]
Faecal microbiota transplantation for C. difficile infection – real life efficacy and cost effectiveness from John Hunter Hospital
Guest posting: Dr Tom Goodsall, Gastroenterologist, Hunter New England Local Health District Presentation with case reports: Dec 2024 Goodsall FMT at John Hunter Hospital Take home messages FMT is an effective and safe treatment for recurrent or refractory diarrhoea / colitis due to C. difficile FMT is delivered at John Hunter Hospital as a TGA-approved […]
Which patients benefit from Asymptomatic Bacteriuria screening?
Guest posting Dr Victoria Jordan, Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Registrar, Pathology NSW. What is asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB)? This is the presence of significant bacterial growth ((≥105 colony-forming units [CFU]/mL) in the urine in the absence of urinary symptoms. It likely occurs via ascension from perineal flora. Commoner with aging: prevalence 5% in healthy premenopausal women; […]
Preoperative nasal screening for Staph. aureus carriage and load reduction (HNE LHD) 2024 update
Indications for preoperative screening for Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA or MRSA) nasal carriage and preoperative staphylococcal load reduction (HNE LHD): Open cardiac and valve procedures Shoulder, hip or knee joint total arthroplasties: primary or revision procedures Aortic work (stent and open) and all lower limb open surgery for vascular reconstructions (bypass, endarterectomy). Iliac stents (as they […]
AIMED - Let's talk about antibiotics 