Each week, we identify one top search term, speculate as to what caused its popularity, and provide an infographic on a related condition. If you have thoughts about what's trending and why, feel free to share them with us on Twitter or Facebook!
Trending Clinical Topic of the Week (April 20-26): Candida auris
Concern about the first identified multidrug-resistant fungus resulted in this week's top trending clinical topic. According to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of Candida auris infections in the United States has now reached 617. Worldwide, cases have been reported in more than 20 countries. C auris can survive on surfaces for months, and infections are spreading in healthcare settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities. Attempts to thoroughly clean rooms in which the organism has been identified have been challenging. What's more, properly identifying infection using standard laboratory methods is difficult, and misidentification can lead to inappropriate management.
The major concern is that C auris has proven to be highly resistant to most antifungals. In some cases, it has demonstrated triple resistance or panresistance, meaning that no currently approved antifungal drugs are able to treat the condition. Since it was first discovered in 2009, C auris has spread quickly, mostly in patients who are already ill from other medical conditions. The CDC has released information on antifungal susceptibility testing and interpretation, but no specific susceptibility breakpoints have been established, and levels of antifungal resistance vary across isolates. As C auris continues to spread and concern continues to rise, a scramble for information about how best to identify and treat the condition is likely to keep it among the top trending clinical topics.
Read more information on candidiasis.
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Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.
Cite this: Ryan Syrek. Trending Clinical Topics for April 2019 - Medscape - Apr 26, 2019.
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