Meningitis and Encephalitis are associated with high rates of mortality and neurological sequelae. The differential diagnosis includes a wide spectrum of infectious and non-infectious etiologies, some requiring urgent therapy for survival. The current management challenges in patients with meningitis and encephalitis include a low sensitivity of meningeal signs, overutilization of unnecessary screening cranial imaging, delays in diagnosis of urgent treatable causes, a large proportion of unknown etiologies, low sensitivity of current microbiological techniques especially in the setting of previous antibiotic therapy, underutilization of available molecular diagnostic tests, and empiric antibiotic therapy and hospitalization for viral meningitis cases. Even though there are published guidelines, compliance with them is not optimal and physicians do not follow standardized algorithms in their empirical approach. As meningitis and encephalitis is associated with high rates of adverse clinical outcomes, prevention, when feasible is of upmost importance. Adherence to protocols to prevent health-care associated meningitis and ventriculitis are effective but compliance with them is not uniformly performed. This book seeks to improve outcomes for meningitis and encephalitis cases handled by physicians who may or may not be thoroughly trained for these challenges. The text introduces the current guidelines but also discusses the gaps that leave clinicians struggling to implement the most appropriate approaches for these particular neurological infections. Each chapter delivers the tools necessary to identify and adhere to the most appropriate diagnostic technique, management protocols, and prevention approach for each situation. All chapters conclude with discourse on future directions in research and quality improvement. Written by experts in infectious diseases, the book covers topics that are the most devastating, including healthcare-acquired infections, autoimmune encephalitis, and infections as they present in HIV patients. Meningitis and Encephalitis is a well-rounded resource for all medical professionals encountering these neurological syndromes, including infectious disease specialists, neurologists, primary care physicians, and immunologists.

Not all scientific discoveries are genius. Continual Raving tells the combined stories of how scientists across the 19th and 20th centuries defeated meningitis -- not through flawless scientific research, but often through a series of serendipitous events, misplaced assumptions, and flawed conclusions. The result is a story of not just a vanquished disease, but how scientific accomplishment sometimes occurs where it's least expected. Although symptoms of meningitis were recorded as early as Hippocrates and the ancient Greeks, our understanding of the disease's origins and mechanisms remained obscure for most of human history. That changed in 1892, when German physician Richard Pfeiffer observed and isolated bacteria ultimately shown to cause meningitis in children -- and concluded that those bacteria cause influenza. Haemophilus influenzae, as thee meningitis-causing bacteria have been erroneously named ever since, continued their strange journey to discovery in the decades that followed. Continual Raving traces the disease's strange encounters with science, including: - Heinrich Quincke, the German internist who first used a needle to draw spinal fluid from between a patient's back bones - Simon Flexner's management of American meningitis epidemics using immune serum from a horse - American bacteriologist Margaret Pittman's discovery (during the Great Depression, no less) of a sugar overcoat that protects the bacteria from white blood cells - Pediatrician Ashley Weech, who gave the first antibiotic used in America (based on instructions written in German) to a young patient sick with meningitis - Microbiologist Hattie Alexander, who learned why these antibiotics sometimes fail in such patients - Four scientists, in two teams, as they vied to be the first to create the right vaccine to prevent meningitis in infants In each of these deeply human stories, variables of chance, circumstance, and incorrect assumptions intervene to shape not just the arc of the scientists' lives, but the trajectory of how humans have come to understand one of our most pernicious diseases. Continual Raving is a mosaic tale of how science conquered meningitis -- and a larger story of the sometimes winding road to discovery.

In 1900, for every 1,000 babies born in the United States, 100 would die before their first birthday, often due to infectious diseases. Today, vaccines exist for many viral and bacterial diseases. The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, passed in 1986, was intended to bolster vaccine research and development through the federal coordination of vaccine initiatives and to provide relief to vaccine manufacturers facing financial burdens. The legislation also intended to address concerns about the safety of vaccines by instituting a compensation program, setting up a passive surveillance system for vaccine adverse events, and by providing information to consumers. A key component of the legislation required the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to collaborate with the Institute of Medicine to assess concerns about the safety of vaccines and potential adverse events, especially in children. Adverse Effects of Vaccines reviews the epidemiological, clinical, and biological evidence regarding adverse health events associated with specific vaccines covered by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), including the varicella zoster vaccine, influenza vaccines, the hepatitis B vaccine, and the human papillomavirus vaccine, among others. For each possible adverse event, the report reviews peer-reviewed primary studies, summarizes their findings, and evaluates the epidemiological, clinical, and biological evidence. It finds that while no vaccine is 100 percent safe, very few adverse events are shown to be caused by vaccines. In addition, the evidence shows that vaccines do not cause several conditions. For example, the MMR vaccine is not associated with autism or childhood diabetes. Also, the DTaP vaccine is not associated with diabetes and the influenza vaccine given as a shot does not exacerbate asthma. Adverse Effects of Vaccines will be of special interest to the National Vaccine Program Office, the VICP, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccine safety researchers and manufacturers, parents, caregivers, and health professionals in the private and public sectors.

THE ESSENTIAL WORK IN TRAVEL MEDICINE -- NOW COMPLETELY UPDATED FOR 2018 As unprecedented numbers of travelers cross international borders each day, the need for up-to-date, practical information about the health challenges posed by travel has never been greater. For both international travelers and the health professionals who care for them, the CDC Yellow Book 2018: Health Information for International Travel is the definitive guide to staying safe and healthy anywhere in the world. The fully revised and updated 2018 edition codifies the U.S. government's most current health guidelines and information for international travelers, including pretravel vaccine recommendations, destination-specific health advice, and easy-to-reference maps, tables, and charts. The 2018 Yellow Book also addresses the needs of specific types of travelers, with dedicated sections on: · Precautions for pregnant travelers, immunocompromised travelers, and travelers with disabilities · Special considerations for newly arrived adoptees, immigrants, and refugees · Practical tips for last-minute or resource-limited travelers · Advice for air crews, humanitarian workers, missionaries, and others who provide care and support overseas Authored by a team of the world's most esteemed travel medicine experts, the Yellow Book is an essential resource for travelers -- and the clinicians overseeing their care -- at home and abroad.

Bacterial Infections of the Central Nervous System aims to provide information useful to physicians taking care of patients with bacterial infections in the central nervous system (CNS), which can lead to morbidity and mortality. The increased number of patients suffering from this infection has led to the development of vaccines and antibiotics. Comprised of four chapters, the book explains the general approach to patients with bacterial CNS infection. It also discusses various CNS infection concepts and terms. These include the characteristic neuroimaging appearance of specific bacterial infections, the limitations of neuroimaging, the cerebrospinal fluid analysis, the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of bacterial CNS infections, the developments of specific adjunctive strategies, and the principles of antimicrobial therapy. It also includes discussions on various diseases that target the CNS, such as meningitis, focal CNS infections, neurological complications of endocarditis, suppurative venous sinus thrombosis, infections in the neurosurgical patient, and CNS diseases caused by selected infectious agents and toxins. This book will serve as a guide for clinical physicians who have patients suffering from bacterial CNS infection.

Cross-sectional imaging plays an ever-increasing role in the management of the acutely ill patient. There is 24/7 demand for radiologists at all levels of training to interpret complex scans, and alongside this an increased expectation that the requesting physician should be able to recognise important cross-sectional anatomy and pathology in order to expedite patient management. Emergency Cross-sectional Radiology addresses both these expectations. Part I demystifies cross-sectional imaging techniques. Part II describes a wide range of emergency conditions in an easy-to-read bullet point format. High quality images reinforce the findings, making this an invaluable rapid reference in everyday clinical practice. Emergency Cross-sectional Radiology is a practical aide-memoire for emergency medicine physicians, surgeons, acute care physicians and radiologists in everyday reporting or emergency on-call environments.

The definitive manual of pediatric medicine - completely updated with 75 new chapters and e-book access.

Now in paperback. An award-winning investigative journalist's horrifying true crime story of America's deadliest drug contamination outbreak and the greed and deception that fueled it. Two pharmacists sit in a Boston courtroom accused of murder. The weapon: the fungus Exserohilum rostratum. The death count: 100 and rising. Kill Shot is the story of their hubris and fraud, discovered by a team of medical detectives who raced against the clock to hunt the killers and the fungal meningitis they'd unleashed. "Bloodthirsty" is how doctors described the fungal microbe that contaminated thousands of drug vials produced by the New England Compounding Center (NECC). Though NECC chief Barry Cadden called his company the "Ferrari of Compounders," it was a slapdash operation of unqualified staff, mold-ridden lab surfaces, and hastily made medications that were injected into approximately 14,000 people. Once inside some of its human hosts, the fungus traveled through the tough tissue around the spine and wormed upward to the "deep brain," our control center for balance, breath, and the vital motor functions of life. Now, investigative journalist Jason Dearen turns a spotlight on this tragedy--the victims, the heroes, and the perpetrators--and the legal loopholes that allowed it to occur. Kill Shot forces a powerful but unchecked industry out of the shadows.

This book is meticulously designed for the busy student, trainee, or seasoned physician looking to enhance or refresh skills in infectious diseases. It is intended to provide a solid resource for students and physicians in need of a concise yet comprehensive background of the material. Each chapter begins with a summary of the topic, a brief case description, definitions, critical teaching points, and tables, figures, photos, and other visual materials to reinforce learning. The chapters take a systems based approach to infections before concluding with the essentials of diagnostic microbiology to leave users with a practical toolkit for real-world clinics. Authored by two expert educators and dual infectious diseases and pediatrics specialists, Clinical Infectious Diseases Study Guide is the only updated study guide designed for medical students, fellows, residents, and trainees who need a strong foundation in infectious diseases. This includes infectious disease specialists in both adult and pediatric care, various internal medicine subspecialists, and hospitalists.