The practice of administering IV antibiotics in an outpatient setting was first described in Houston, Texas, in 1974, when an indwelling IV infusion set was used to treat chronic bronchopulmonary infection associated with cystic fibrosis in a pediatric population.[1] Numerous Canadian and international studies have evaluated the benefit of outpatient antimicrobial therapy in a variety of settings, including home administration and outpatient infusion centres.[2-4] In 1978, Dr Grant Stiver reported on the first Canadian IV antibiotic therapy at-home model,
In 1980, I wrote an editorial for the BC Medical Journal entitled “The subspecialty of infectious disease (ID) and the multifaceted role of the ID physician.”[1] The current theme issue offers a unique opportunity to reflect upon the evolution of the discipline of infectious diseases in our province within the past 40 years and to speculate about its future.
As she stood in the lobby of a business at the end of her 12-hour shift, a Chinese-Canadian nurse couldn’t help but notice that her food was being prepared by unmasked workers.
Recently, two novel agents have become available in BC for the treatment of COVID-19 in mild to moderately ill patients: a direct-acting oral antiviral, nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, and an IV antiviral, remdesivir. A monoclonal antibody, sotrovimab, was also in widespread use until recently; however, its utility has been limited due to loss of activity against the BA.2 variant of Omicron.
