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Ebbing Lautenbach, MD, MPH, MSCE; Neil O. Fishman, MD

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In reply

We greatly appreciate the interest and commentary by Cervia et al in response to our article. We agree that the reemergence of gram-negative organisms as increasingly common causes of health care–acquired bloodstream infections is very troubling, particularly given the dearth of new antibiotic development in the past several years.¹ Recent work has underscored the unique challenges of developing new agents effective against some of the most worrisome gram-negative pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumanii.² The urgency of this issue is highlighted even more by the continued increases in multidrug resistance among these organisms.

More clearly elucidating the epidemiology of gram-negative infections, particularly resistant gram-negative infections, is paramount in developing interventions to effectively curb these infections in the health care setting. Cervia et al note recent data showing that gram-negative organisms associated with health care infections can . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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RELATED LETTER

Water as a Source of Health Care–Associated Infections
Joseph Steven Cervia, Frank Canonica, and Girolomo Ortolano
Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(1):92.
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