Infectious Diseases
- Vaccine hesitancy in the time of COVID: How to manage a public health threat
It is important to empower patients to be their own advocates while helping them sort through the data on vaccines, emphasizing what we know and where uncertainty remains.
- Persistent erosions of the glans penis and foreskin
A 66-year-old man presented with an 8-month history of persistent erosions of the glans penis and foreskin with slight itching and pain.
- Do patients with sepsis benefit from intravenous albumin?
Patients with sepsis who do not need vasopressors do not benefit from intravenous albumin compared with intravenous crystalloid therapy alone.
- Preventing herpes zoster in immunocompromised patients: Current concepts
The authors review clinical aspects of herpes zoster vaccination, including identifying at-risk patients, weighing the risks and benefits of the recombinant zoster vaccine, and using best practices for administering the vaccine.
- Preexposure prophylaxis for preventing HIV infection: Routine practice in primary care
Knowing how to conduct a thorough sexual history and prescribe PrEP medications can contribute to reducing the incidence of new HIV infection.
- Corticosteroids: Giving and taking away
Two articles this month highlight opposite ends of the treatment spectrum, one on introducing adjunctive corticosteroids when treating Pneumocystis pneumonia, and the other on syndromes associated with glucocorticoid withdrawal.
- When should I give corticosteroids to my patient with Pneumocystis pneumonia?
Patients with HIV infection who are hypoxemic should receive corticosteroids. Evidence for patients without HIV infection is limited.
- Is there a role for chronic suppressive therapy in herpes simplex virus infection?
Yes, in patients with recurrent oral and genital HSV-2 infection and oral HSV-1 infection.