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Implementation of point-of-care (POC) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for patients with acute pharyngitis symptoms as part of a broader antibiotic stewardship initiative was associated with a significant reduction in inappropriate antibiotic use at outpatient clinics in California, researchers reported today in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. (3/24)

Asthma is considered a precaution for use of quadrivalent live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV4) in persons aged ≥5 years because of concerns for wheezing events. We evaluated the safety of LAIV4 in children with asthma, comparing the proportion of children with asthma exacerbations after LAIV4 or quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV4). (Sokolow, 3/28)

Scientists have leveraged on a novel vaccine platform to deliver M2e to immune cells. This allowed them to prove that a single shot immunization containing M2e was able to trigger long-lasting immune responses that could protect effectively against multiple strains of the flu. (National University of Singapore, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, 3/29)

Cancer immunotherapy is a remarkable success story that has revolutionized cancer care across numerous tumor types1, and although most patients with cancer fail to respond to currently approved immunotherapies, there are nearly 5,000 novel agents in preclinical or clinical development that aim to improve outcomes2. (Marron et al, 3/28)

New research demonstrates overgrowth of the amygdala in the first year of life, before babies show most of the behavioral symptoms that later consolidate into a diagnosis of autism. This overgrowth may be unique to autism, as babies with fragile X syndrome show a different brain growth pattern. (University of North Carolina Health Care, 3/25)

The findings of this birth cohort study suggest that antipsychotic medications may not have important neurotoxic effects; the potential signal identified for aripiprazole requires replication in other data before causality can be assumed. (Straub et al, 3/28)

Qatar's Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) last week reported a Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) case in a man who had contact with camels. The man is hospitalized. So far, no other illnesses have been identified among his contacts, who are under monitoring for 14 days. The case marks Qatar's first infection with the MERS-CoV virus since 2020 and pushes the country's total to 24. The man's illness onset date isn't clear, but if it was in 2022, it would signify the first such case reported in the new year. (3/28)