Editorial

In 1978, Robert G. Petersdorf, MD, made the statement that the war against infectious diseases had been won and that additional ID specialists were no longer necessary. He went on to say that if additional specialists were trained, they would end up culturing one another. He continued that: Infectious disease is destined to function best as an academic specialty whose trainees should pursue careers primarily as investigators. The number of clinicians leaving training should be reduced and not further glut the marketplace; they should be based in academic divisions and devote their clinical time and effort to the care of complex referral and to indigent patients.

The treatment of early post-operative staphylococcal prosthetic joint infection (PJI) with debridement, antibiotics, and retention of the implant (DAIR) is becoming increasingly common. This approach has many advantages, primarily more rapid mobilization and return to normal activities compared to a one- or two-stage revision.

Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the population and among hospitalized patients. Despite improvements in the management of critically ill patients with SAB and the introduction of new antibiotics, the mortality rate remains unacceptably
high.