To ensure you receive Physician's First Watch, add FirstWatch@jwatch.org to your address book.

Physician's First Watch Logo

Forward  |  Sign Up  |  My Alerts  |  About Physician's First Watch  |  Editorial Board

Physician's First Watch for February 3, 2011
David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief

Fidaxomicin Lowers C. difficile Recurrence, Compared with Vancomycin

HPV Vaccine Seems Effective in Young Men

Featured in Journal Watch: Traffic-Related Air Pollutants and Autism

Fidaxomicin Lowers C. difficile Recurrence, Compared with Vancomycin

In comparison with vancomycin, the macrocyclic antibiotic fidaxomicin lowered recurrence rates of Clostridium difficile infection, according to a New England Journal of Medicine study.

In a phase III noninferiority trial sponsored and conducted by the manufacturer, researchers randomized some 600 patients to 10 days of either fidaxomicin or vancomycin. The rate of clinical cure in those receiving at least one dose of the medication was about 85% in both groups. Recurrence rates among those with the most virulent C. difficile strains were similar for both regimens (about 25%), but for other strains, fidaxomicin conferred a much lower recurrence rate (8%) than vancomycin (26%).

Laboratory abnormalities — specifically, hyperuricemia and elevated transaminases — were significantly more common with fidaxomicin.

An editorialist says that fidaxomicin, while needing additional study, seems an "important advance." In Journal Watch Infectious Diseases, Dr. Larry Baddour writes, "I hope that this is the case — new, more-effective treatments [for C. difficile infection] are badly needed."

NEJM article (Free abstract)

NEJM editorial (Subscription required)

Journal Watch Infectious Diseases summary (Free)

Share:

Digg this

delicious

Add to del.icio.us

Reddit

Add to Reddit

Email

Forward to a friend

Top

HPV Vaccine Seems Effective in Young Men

Vaccinating young men against human papillomavirus appears to be effective in preventing external genital lesions, according to an international trial supported and conducted by the manufacturer and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Roughly 4000 males aged 16 to 26 years who had five or fewer lifetime sexual partners were randomized to receive either three doses of quadrivalent HPV vaccine or placebo. After a median follow-up of 2.9 years, the vaccine had an efficacy of 60% in preventing external genital lesions. The efficacy was 66% when considering only lesions related to HPV-6, 11, 16, or 18. The vaccine also reduced the incidence of persistent infection with these four HPV types and the DNA detection of related HPV types.

The authors conclude: "Although the point efficacy estimates for the boys and men in this study are numerically lower than those for girls and women in previous studies, the confidence intervals overlap, suggesting that vaccine efficacy may be similar for the two sexes."

NEJM article (Free abstract)

NEJM perspective (Subscription required)

Share:

Digg

Digg this

delicious

Add to del.icio.us

Reddit

Add to Reddit

Email

Forward to a friend

Top

Featured in Journal Watch: Traffic-Related Air Pollutants and Autism

A mother's residing close to a freeway at the time of delivery was linked to a greater risk for autism.

Journal Watch Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine summary (Your Journal Watch subscription required)

Share:

Digg

Digg this

delicious

Add to del.icio.us

Reddit

Add to Reddit

Email

Forward to a friend

Top

Physician-Editors contributing to this issue were: Susan Sadoughi, MD, and Danielle Bowen Scheurer, MD, MSc.

 

SPECIAL OFFERS

Subscribe to Journal Watch Online!
Get 1 year (52 weeks) of Journal Watch Online for just $99. Enjoy unlimited access to JWatch.org, including content from all 13 specialty areas and 20 topic areas. Subscribe now.


* Physician's First Watch is editorially independent and does not endorse any company, publication, product, or service.

HIV and ID Observations: A Journal Watch Blog

Thank you for signing up to receive Physician's First Watch.

Click here to UNSUBSCRIBE from Physician's First Watch. To change your delivery options or sign up for additional Journal Watch Alerts, go to My Alerts. If someone forwarded Physician's First Watch to you, register today for this free Journal Watch service.

Please do not reply to this e-mail. This is an automated mailbox. If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail us at jwatch@mms.org or contact our Customer Service department at (800) 843-6356.

Editorial, Business, and Subscription Offices:
860 Winter Street, Waltham, MA 02451-1413
Phone: (781) 893-3800 x5515 or (800) 843-6356

Editorial Policies | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | Site Map
Copyright © 2011. Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.