"MDR Infections Surge In Cirrhosis" - Zeena Nackerdien
Patients with cirrhosis – the late stage of progressive hepatic fibrosis characterized by distortion of the hepatic architecture and formation of regenerative nodules – are susceptible to an array of complications and have shortened life expectancies. Leaders of this study saw a need to strengthen the evidence base with respect to microbial infections, particularly MDR and extensively drug resistant (XDR) bacteria in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis. The 34 percent prevalence of MDR bacteria in the cirrhotic population should be a wake-up call, said Scott Friedman, MD, chief of liver diseases at the Mount Sinai Health System, who was not involved in the research. "This is a unique and comprehensive study that is unlikely to be replicated with this kind of rigor any time soon. It's a warning that antibiotics have to be used judiciously and that the possibility of MDR should always be a consideration, particularly in those regions where it is more likely."
— Scott L. Friedman, MD, Dean, Therapeutic Discovery, Fishberg Professor, Medicine, Professor, Liver Diseases, Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Chief, Liver Diseases, The Mount Sinai Health System