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Sepsis is a major public health problem and the focus of national quality measures and performance improvement initiatives. Understanding what is happening with sepsis rates and outcomes is thus an area of great importance. However, tracking sepsis rates and outcomes is challenging because it is a heterogeneous syndrome without a definitive "gold standard" test. In the February issue of CHEST, investigators compared the effectiveness of claims-based surveillance using ICD-9 codes with clinical-based data and specific diagnostic parameters. Their findings suggest that surveillance based on clinical criteria is a more reliable way to track cases of septic shock.

More than 1 million healthcare associated infections (HAIs) occur within the U.S. healthcare system every year. According to a study per-formed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1 of every 25 hospitalized patients in the U.S. develop an HAI, meaning that nearly 650,000 patients contract one of these infections annually. These infections can lead to serious illness and result in the loss of thousands of lives each year. In addition they impose a tremendous financial burden, estimated to be more than a billion dollars annually in the U.S.

The red berries of the Brazilian peppertree -- a weedy, invasive species common in Florida -- contain an extract with the power to disarm dangerous antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria, scientists at Emory University have discovered.

Malaria mosquitoes prefer to feed -- and feed more -- on blood from people infected with malaria. Researchers from Stockholm University, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and KTH Royal Institute of Technology have discovered why. The findings can lead to new ways to fight malaria without using poisonous chemicals. The results will be published in the next issue of the journal Science.

Viral and human genetics together account for about one third of the differences in disease progression rates seen among people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), according to new research published in PLOS Computational Biology. The findings suggest that patient genetics influences disease progression by triggering mutations in the HIV viral genome.

A few days after a viral infection, countless killer cells swarm out to track down and kill infected body cells. In this way, they are highly effective at preventing pathogens from being able to spread further. An international research team has now explained an important mechanism behind building this army. The work under the aegis of the University of Bonn is published in the journal Immunity.

An international group of researchers, led by professor Zhu Yongguan from the Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has detected the widespread presence of antibiotic resistance genes in estuarine areas -- regions where land, freshwater and seawater meet.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition due to excessive immune responses to infection that damages the patient's own tissues and organs. In septic shock, the severest stage of sepsis, the blood pressure drops to a dangerously low level, often leading to multiple organ failure and death. To date, there is no effective therapy yet available for septic shock. Recent findings by Japanese scientists may be a breakthrough in developing a silver bullet for the treatment of septic shock.

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have taken an important step on the road to understanding the underlying mechanism of how and why animals can feel pain in connection with cold or heat. However, according to the study, temperature is just one triggering factor -- horseradish, mustard, cinnamon and wasabi have a similar effect.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are caused by a type of staph bacteria that has become resistant to the antibiotics used to treat ordinary staph infections. The rise of MRSA infections is limiting the treatment options for physicians and surgeons. Now, an international team of researchers, led by Elizabeth Loboa, dean of the University of Missouri College of Engineering, has used silver ion-coated scaffolds, or biomaterials that are created to hold stem cells, which slow the spread of or kill MRSA while regenerating new bone. Scientists feel that the biodegradable and biocompatible scaffolds could be the first step in the fight against MRSA in patients.