Should standardized susceptibility testing for microbial biofilms be introduced in clinical practice?

Standardized method for in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing of Candida albicans biofilms.

Candida albicans is implicated in many biomaterial-related infections. Typically, these infections are associated with biofilm formation. Cells in biofilms display phenotypic traits that are dramatically different from those of their free-floating planktonic counterparts and are notoriously resistant to antimicrobial agents. Consequently, biofilm-related infections are inherently difficult to t...

Dolutegravir monotherapy: when should clinical practice be clinical research?

Should Clinical Services Provided by Pharmacists be Compensated?

Should Medicare HMO benefits be standardized?

Legislation enacted in 1990 standardized Medigap benefits but not the benefits of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that serve Medicare beneficiaries. An examination of marketing materials in two large counties reveals the potential for enormous confusion among beneficiaries because of differences in wording to describe the same benefit, health plans' failure to list Medicare-covered serv...

Should peanut allergy screening be introduced for all Irish children?

Rationale There has been an incremental increase in peanut allergy worldwide in recent decades. Unlike other major food allergens, peanut allergic children are unlikely to acquire tolerance in childhood. Peanut and treenuts are the most common foods implicated in food induced anaphylaxis. We use the data gathered from a large unselected Irish birth cohort study to assess whether screening for P...