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:

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.

Streptococcus (S.) pneumoniae is a common bacterium and one of the leading causes of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), causing 27% of cases worldwide and 15% of U.S. cases – an important figure because CAP is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Not only is acute respiratory illness one of the top ten causes of death in the U.S., but it is associated with a 17% all-cause mortality rate 30 days after presentation and a 38% rate after one year. For those admitted to the ICU – accounting for nearly a quarter of those hospitalized with CAP the corresponding morality rates are 27% and 47%, respectively.