Important recent reports in infectious diseases

Mark Loeb, MD, MSc, is a professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine and Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics and director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at McMaster University.

Have there been any breakthrough reports or any new important guidelines in the field of infectious diseases in 2022/2023?

In terms of non–coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)–related randomized controlled trials (RCTs), there was one trial that compared an empiric therapy for patients who are at risk for invasive fungal disease, a directed therapy or preemptive therapy. There, the effect was noninferiority and it reduced the level, or the amount of antifungals used. That’s one RCT.

Another relatively recent RCT was one that looked at patients who had HIV with cryptococcal meningitis. They were randomized to only one dose of liposomal amphotericin versus the prolonged World Health Organization (WHO)–recommended course of amphotericin and there the results were noninferior.