Category Guidelines
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 […]
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 […]
Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection epidemiology (2022) – Hunter New England Health
Case load, mortality and relapse Healthcare-associated cases Community acquired cases N=83 (0.9 / 10,000 inpatient bed-days) 8% MRSA 9% Age-adjusted 30-day mortality (c.f. 9% in 2018) Relapse within 15-90 days (2019 – 2022): – 1.8% of adult events – 0% of paediatric events N=264 (2.8 / 10,000 population) 12% MRSA 7% Age-adjusted […]
Prosthetic joint surgery – HNE Health infection prevention protocols
Updated 25/1/24 Preoperative evaluation and perioperative care Screen for MSSA or MRSA carriage with a single nose swab culture (repeat if surgery delayed > 1 month) Carriers of MSSA or MRSA have staphylococcal load reduction performed in the week prior to surgery Preoperative urine cultures are NOT indicated Shower on day of surgery (normal soap) […]
Piperacillin+tazobactam shortage – recommended alternatives – HNELHD
SITUATION Due to a global shortage, many Hunter New England Local Health District sites have low supplies of piperacillin+tazobactam with shortages likely until after September. It is essential that further use of this agent is conserved as below. Amoxycillin+clavulanate is now available in a parenteral form and is a suitable option in many circumstances, contingent on local […]
IV amoxycillin+clavulanate available – uses in intra-abdominal infection – new guideline
We’ve previously counselled against augmentin overuse in a number of conditions which did not, however, include intra-abdominal infection where the new availability of an IV preparation offers us a way of reducing the use of the workhorse antibiotic piperacillin+tazobactam. Here is our freshly minted guideline which also provides more explicit advice about short or no […]
Choosing Wisely: Antibiotic prophylaxis for prevention of infective endocarditis
For many years, antibiotic prophylaxis was routinely administered before dental and other procedures to patients with cardiac conditions that carry a high lifetime risk of infective endocarditis. However due to the infrequent occurrence of endocarditis, prophylaxis prevents very few cases. Infective endocarditis is more likely to result from bacteraemia associated with daily activities (e.g. tooth […]
AIMED - Let's talk about antibiotics 