JHU Med Studying Dangerous Infections
Two infectious disease experts at Johns Hopkins Medicine have been awarded $10 million in research funding over five years by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), a nonprofit authorized by Congress in 2010.
The award will support a randomized controlled clinical trial at eight hospitals involving a study of approximately 1,200 patients with bloodstream infections caused by Gram negative bacteria. Gram-negative bacteria are organisms that are not colorized by the Gram staining method used to differentiate bacteria into two distinct groups: gram positive and gram negative.
Sara Cosgrove MD, Director, Johns Hopkins Hospital Department of Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and Professor of Medicine at JHU School of Medicine reports, “According to previous studies, an estimated 1 in 5 patients with chronic medical conditions will develop a gram-negative bloodstream infection during their lifetime.”
According to Pranita Tamma M.D., Director of the Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at JHU School of Medicine, “Traditionally, Gram-negative bloodstream infections have been treated with IV antibiotics for the duration of the patient’s therapy either in the hospital or with placement of a vascular catheter to continue treatment at home or in a skilled nursing facility.”
However, Dr. Tamma points out, “Vascular catheters used to place IV lines can pose a risk of secondary infection and other complications. Also, because IV therapy imposes limitations on patient mobility and quality of life, we want to see if oral antibiotic treatment using pills given at an early stage could achieve outcomes on par with those of IV antibiotics.”
The clinical trial will randomize patients into one or two groups. One group will receive IV antibiotics for the duration of therapy and the other group who start with IV therapy will then follow with an early transition to oral antibiotics for the remainder of the treatment.
The study will be conducted at eight hospitals strategically selected because they meet the following criteria which is a mix of urban, suburban, and rural populations and will be distributed geographically across the U.S. with racially and ethnically diverse populations.
“John Hopkins Medicine has been on the forefront of research to improve the treatment of bacterial disease and optimize patient outcomes, especially in those with chronic medical conditions,” reports Amita Gupa, M.D, Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Professor of Medicine at the JHU School of Medicine.