Free Infectious Medicine CME

Target Audience: Physicians focusing on Infectious Diseases. 

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has upended life as humankind knows it, leading to over 668 million cases and more than 6.7 million deaths worldwide at the time of this writing. SARS-CoV-2 invades the nasal epithelium and lungs, leading to a variety of clinical presentations and outcomes during the acute infectious process, including asymptomatic disease; milder symptoms such as fever, cough, abdominal pain, anosmia, and ageusia; and, in severe cases, hypoxemia, acute respiratory stress disease, and death. Complications are not limited to the respiratory tract and may present as multi-organ involvement varying from acute cardiac injury, coagulopathies, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome. Some survivors of the disease must also grapple with post-COVID conditions (or “long COVID”), which can include a constellation of manifestations, such as fatigue and impaired cognitive function, and impair patient quality of life.

Target Audience:

HCPs including: hospitalists and other primary care physicians, infectious disease physicians, pulmonologists, and critical care physicians; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists in those areas of specialty; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with acute COVID-19 infection.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:
In this online, self-learning activity:

Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) occurs at an estimated rate of five to ten per 1,000 hospital admissions and is the most common cause of hospital-acquired infection in the United States. It is defined as pneumonia that develops at least 48 hours after hospital admission and did not appear to be incubating at the time of admission. A significant subset of HAP that occurs most frequently in intensive care units (ICUs) is ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), which is defined as pneumonia that occurs more than 48 to 72 hours after tracheal intubation and is thought to affect approximately 10 to 20% of patients who receive mechanical ventilation for more than 48 hours. Altered mechanical defenses, such as impaired ciliary motion and mucus secretion, increase the susceptibility for acquiring pneumonia in intubated patients, with over 90% of pneumonia episodes that develop in ICUs occurring in patients who are intubated or mechanically ventilated.

Target Audience:
HCPs including: pulmonologists, infectious disease specialists, and intensivists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists specializing in infectious disease or critical care; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or clinically encounter patients with HAP or VAP.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:
In this online, self-learning activity:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are nearly 1.2 million people aged 13 years and older living with HIV (PLWH) in the U.S. Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic in the 1980s, advances in public health initiatives and treatments have considerably lengthened the life expectancy of PLWH, while simultaneously reducing transmission and diagnosis of new cases. Nonetheless, an estimated 31,000 people are infected with HIV each year in the United States, with the highest incidence in people from underserved and marginalized communities. As a result, a key component of the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) strategy is to prevent new HIV infections by expanding use of evidence-based interventions.

Target Audience:
HCPs including: Infectious disease specialists, primary care physicians, and public health professionals; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in infectious disease; and any other HCPs with an interest in or who clinically encounter HIV.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

Clostridioides difficile (formerly known as Clostridium difficile) is a gram-positive obligate anaerobe that produces exotoxins in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract resulting in watery, loose stool, abdominal pain, and nausea. The U.S. incidence of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is about half a million people, with 28% community-acquired, 37% healthcare-associated, and 36% associated with long-term care facilities. Additionally, CDI has incurred one billion dollars in costs to the U.S. healthcare system. Antibiotic exposure causes changes to the GI microflora and increases the risk of developing CDI, which is especially seen in carbapenems, third-/fourth- generation cephalosporins, clindamycin, and fluoroquinolone use. Other risk factors include acid suppressive therapy; age; prolonged hospitalizations or other recent healthcare exposure; recent tube feeding or GI surgery; and immunocompromised states, including recent chemotherapy.

Target Audience:

HCPs including: infectious diseases physicians, gastroenterologists, hospitalists, and intensivists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in the aforementioned areas of specialty; and any other HCPs with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with CDI. 

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a phenomenon fueled by the selection pressure leveled against microorganisms through the use and misuse of antimicrobials in clinical and agricultural settings as well as horizontal gene transfer between pathogens. The WHO predicts that there will be 50 million deaths caused by infectious diseases, and the U.N. General Assembly has designated the emergence of AMR the largest world health problem.

The World Health Assembly has endorsed a Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance, including one step to address AMR: the sustainable investment in and development of new antimicrobials. Helping the clinician discern the role of these advances merits continuing healthcare professional education, as research suggests that HCPs are oftentimes unable to keep up with the steady publishing of literature and evolution of clinical practice. In so doing, the goal is to educate clinicians about the appropriate role of novel antibiotics so that they may more effectively address the challenge of AMR rather than contributing to it.

Target Audience:

HCPs specializing in: Infectious disease, critical care, and primary care; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists who practice in the aforementioned areas of specialty; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who treat patients with antimicrobials.

By the end of the session the participant will be able to:

• Identify key findings from the ID Week 2019 conference.
• Apply the changes in CAP guidelines 2019 from 2007.
• Identify novel drugs approved in 2019 and their potential.
• Understand the implications of some current research and paradigm shifts.
• Review HIV progress in the last year.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

The term human papillomavirus encompasses a family of DNA viruses that are sexually transmittable and may cause either benign or malignant lesions. They are the leading cause of cervical cancer (CC), with approximately 90% of CC cases attributable to HPV, as well as a major contributor to anogenital and head and neck cancers, although many patients infected with HPV will never develop any related symptoms or disease. The prevalence of HPV in the U.S. is 42.5 million people, and direct medical costs attributed to it are $775 million. HPV 16 accounts for a majority or plurality of HPV-related cancers of both genital tract and head and neck.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends HPV vaccination beginning as early as age nine for both sexes, with the schedule and number of doses dependent on age of first dose.

Target Audience:

The following HCPs: Primary care physicians and pediatricians; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in the aforementioned areas of specialty; and any other HCPs with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients who would benefit from HPV vaccination.