Urinary Tract Infections
Introduction Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common infectious diseases, both in ambulatory and hospital settings, and is a major cause of antimicrobial use. This is especially…
Lower Respiratory Tract Infections
Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are among the most frequently encountered and difficult to diagnose infectious syndromes. Symptoms of most LRTIs overlap with other clinical conditions, such as congestive heart…
Ear, Nose, Throat, and Neck Infections
Infections of the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) run the gamut from annoying but relatively harmless otitis externa to life-threatening infections of the airway. Despite the broad array of syndromes,…
General Principles of Antimicrobial Therapy
Introduction Antimicrobials differ intrinsically from other drugs. Antimicrobials do not aim to affect biologic processes in the patient, but instead inhibit or kill invading pathogens and commensal microorganisms. The properties…
Fever of Unknown Origin
Introduction Fever is a common complaint encountered by primary caregivers, internists, and surgeons. We all experience fever throughout our lives, and although frequently the cause of fever is never explained,…
A Primer on Antimicrobials
Introduction The serendipitous discovery of penicillin by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928 was one of the greatest medical advances of the 20th century and marks the beginning of the antibiotic…
A Primer on Microbiology
Introduction to Microorganisms That Interact with Humans In this section, we will introduce the main categories of organisms that interact with humans both as part of the human microbiome and…
Interacting with the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory
Introduction The clinical microbiology laboratory offers an increasingly diverse menu of diagnostic assays, including maintenance of traditional methods first developed in the early 1900s, to implementing increasingly complex molecular assays…
General Approach to Infectious Diseases Evaluation
Infections are disorders or diseases caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. Infections manifest themselves by a myriad of signs and symptoms in a variety of combinations….
