Category Guidelines
Prosthetic joint surgery – HNE Health infection prevention protocols
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) Apply non-rinse […]
Essential clinical care of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection (SAB)
Originally posted on AIMED – Let's talk about antibiotics:
Updated 8/5/20. A. Healthcare-associated events (2018, HNE LHD ) 60 healthcare-associated SAB cases occurred with 7% due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and age-adjusted 30 day mortality of 9%. SAB relapse within 15-90 days occurred in 2.1% of adult events 7% of paediatric events. Principle…
Smartphone website for local guidelines including pneumonia (HNELHD)
The Quality Use of Medicines smartphone-enabled website has been updated to include changes to hospital acquired pneumonia guidelines. With this site, you are only three clicks away from a treatment recommendation! See below for the range of guidelines available. Note that whilst Therapeutic Guidelines: Antibiotic remains the main resource, HNE guidelines, where approved, take precedence- […]
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 […]
New Australasian Guidelines for the treatment of C. difficile
New Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases guidelines for the treatment of Clostridium difficile have been published in the Internal Medicine Journal this month. The guidelines provide management advice for C. difficile in adults and children in both hospital and community settings.
Managing STIs in Primary Care
Guest posting: Dr Nathan Ryder, Clinical Director Sexual Health, Hunter New England Local Health District Managing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have always presented a number of challenges to primary care physicians. While most bacterial STIs can still be cured with single dose treatments some STIs are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics. Therefore it is more […]
HNE Guidelines available on Smartphones
The HNEQUM mobile website has recently been updated to include the latest version of some commonly used guidelines.
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 
Essential clinical care of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection (SAB)
Updated 8/5/20. A. Healthcare-associated events (2018, HNE LHD ) 60 healthcare-associated SAB cases occurred with 7% due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and age-adjusted 30 day mortality of 9%. SAB relapse within 15-90 days occurred in 2.1% of adult events 7% of paediatric events. Principle sites common: ● Vascular access device (e.g. intravenous cannula, central […]