Introduction: Healthcare systems are complex and challenging for all stakeholders, but artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed various fields, including healthcare, with the potential to improve patient care and quality of life. Rapid AI advancements can revolutionize healthcare by integrating it into clinical practice. Reporting AI’s role in clinical practice is crucial for successful implementation by equipping healthcare providers with essential knowledge and tools. Research Significance: This review article provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the current state of AI in clinical practice, including its potential applications in disease diagnosis, treatment recommendations, and patient engagement. It also discusses the associated challenges, covering ethical and legal considerations and the need for human expertise. By doing so, it enhances understanding of AI’s significance in healthcare and supports healthcare organizations in effectively adopting AI technologies. Materials and Methods: The current investigation analyzed the use of AI in the healthcare system with a comprehensive review of relevant indexed literature, such as PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and EMBASE, with no time constraints but limited to articles published in English. The focused question explores the impact of applying AI in healthcare settings and the potential outcomes of this application. Results: Integrating AI into healthcare holds excellent potential for improving disease diagnosis, treatment selection, and clinical laboratory testing. AI tools can leverage large datasets and identify patterns to surpass human performance in several healthcare aspects. AI offers increased accuracy, reduced costs, and time savings while minimizing human errors. It can revolutionize personalized medicine, optimize medication dosages, enhance population health management, establish guidelines, provide virtual health assistants, support mental health care, improve patient education, and influence patient-physician trust. Conclusion: AI can be used to diagnose diseases, develop personalized treatment plans, and assist clinicians with decision-making. Rather than simply automating tasks, AI is about developing technologies that can enhance patient care across healthcare settings. However, challenges related to data privacy, bias, and the need for human expertise must be addressed for the responsible and effective implementation of AI in healthcare.

The study aims to comparatively assess the nephrotoxicity of vancomycin when combined with piperacillin-tazobactam (V + PT) or meropenem (V + M) in adult patients hospitalized in general wards or intensive care units. We searched MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and Web of Science for observational studies evaluating incidences of AKI in adult patients receiving V + PT or V + M for at least 48 h in general wards or intensive care units. The primary outcome was AKI events, while the secondary outcomes were hospital length of stay, need for renal replacement therapy (RRT), and mortality events. The odds ratio (OR), or mean difference for the hospital length of stay, with a corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) from the inverse variance weighting random-effects model were estimated for the risk of AKI, RRT, and mortality. Of the 112 studies identified, twelve observational studies were included in this meta-analysis with a total of 14,511 patients. The odds of having AKI were significantly higher in patients receiving V + PT compared with V + M (OR = 2.31; 95%CI 1.69–3.15). There were no differences between V + PT and V + M in the hospital length of stay, RRT, or mortality outcomes. Thus, clinicians should be vigilant while using V + PT, especially in patients who are at high risk of AKI.

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) has long been considered the treatment of choice for infections caused by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Levofloxacin has emerged as a potential option for treating these infections. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes in patients who received TMP-SMX versus levofloxacin for treating S. maltophilia infections. A retrospective, cohort study was conducted in 4 tertiary centers and included patients who were treated with either TMP-SMX or levofloxacin for infections caused by S. maltophilia. The main study outcomes were overall in-hospital mortality, 30-day mortality, and clinical cure. Safety outcomes were also evaluated. Multivariate analysis using logistic regression was used to control for the effect of the covariables. We included 371 patients in this study, 316 received TMP-SMX and 55 patients received levofloxacin. A total of 70% were in the intensive care unit and 21% presented with bacteremia. No statistically significant differences were observed in overall in-hospital mortality (52% vs 40%; p = 0.113; OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 0.89-2.86), 30-day mortality (28% vs 25%; p = 0.712; OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.59-2.18), or clinical cure (55% vs 64%; p = 0.237; OR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.37-1.31). Rates of acute kidney injury were comparable between the two groups (11% vs 7%; p = 0.413). Patients receiving levofloxacin for the treatment of infections caused by S. maltophilia demonstrated clinical outcomes similar to those receiving TMP-SMX. Our study suggests that levofloxacin can be a reasonable alternative to TMP-SMX to treat these infections.

The burden of COVID-19 pandemic affected the globe, and it is unclear how it has impacted the general perception of other vaccines. We aimed to investigate the public awareness, knowledge, and attitude towards other complementary vaccines after the mandate of the COVID-19 vaccine. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia using a survey distributed via several social media platforms in June 2022. The questionnaire had three main sections; awareness; attitudes; and demographic information. Descriptive analysis was mainly used and supplemented with Chi-square test for correlation. All individuals over the age of 18 were eligible to participate in the study. A total of 1,045 participants from Saudi Arabia completed the survey. Of the respondents, 55.9% were female, and 95% were Saudi citizens. Public awareness towards vaccines after the mandate of COVID-19 vaccine was the highest with the influenza vaccine (98.2%), followed by human papillomavirus (HPV) (40.7%), tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) (37.2%), and lastly, pneumococcal vaccine (17%). More than 50% of the participants expressed their willingness to receive any of the four vaccines if they knew about the benefits related to these vaccines. The study showed that participants were willing to receive the vaccination if they were aware of the general benefits of vaccinations. Therefore, health education and campaigns toward recommended vaccines for high-risk group are essential and needed.

Background: Candidozyma auris has emerged globally as a multidrug-resistant pathogen with high rates of colonization and potential for invasive infection. Understanding the progression from colonization to infection and associated outcomes is limited. This study aimed to describe the characteristics and outcomes of C. auris-colonized patients and identify risk factors for progression to infection. Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective case–control study of hospitalized patients with documented C. auris colonization at a tertiary care center (2018–2024). Cases were patients who progressed to a fungal infection (infection group), while controls remained colonized (colonized group). Demographics, comorbidities, device use, prior antimicrobial exposure, microbiologic characteristics, and outcomes were compared. Results: Among 334 C. auris-colonized patients, 44 (13.2%) progressed to infection. The median age was 66.4 years. Those in the infection group had higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (5.9 ± 3.1 vs. 4.79 ± 2.7, p = 0.0112) and were more likely to have central line (90.9% vs. 71.7%, p = 0.0067), mechanical ventilation (77.3% vs. 60.34%, p = 0.0306), parenteral nutrition (6.82% vs. 1.72%, p = 0.0395), and abdominal surgery (13.64% vs. 4.83%, p = 0.0217). In multivariate analysis, abdominal surgery was the only independent predictor of infection (OR 4.08; 95% CI 1.1–15.1; p = 0.03). In-hospital mortality was significantly higher in the infection group (65.9% vs. 33.1%, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Approximately one in eight colonized patients developed C. auris infection. Recent abdominal surgery independently predicted progression, while infection was associated with higher mortality and prolonged hospitalization, underscoring the need for targeted prevention in high-risk patients.

Introduction: Patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) typically receive long-term trastuzumab treatment for several years. The aim of our study is to identify the incidence and characterize late-onset cardiotoxicity in patients with HER2-positive MBC receiving trastuzumab-based therapy. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed charts of HER2-positive MBC patients who received >1 year of trastuzumab-based therapy at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center over three-year period. The primary endpoint was development of trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity (TIC). Secondary endpoints included time to TIC development, incidence/duration of trastuzumab interruption due to TIC, incidence of permanent discontinuation of trastuzumab due to TIC, clinic visit, or hospitalization due to TIC. Results: Thirty-seven patients were included. Mean age was 56 years (range: 33–78 years, SD 9.5). Seven patients received prior doxorubicin and 14 patients received previous or concurrent breast irradiation. Mean duration of trastuzumab-based therapy was 57 months (range: 14–140 months, SD 39.3). Seven patients (18.9%) experienced TIC resulting in treatment interruption for two patients (28 and 78 days). The median time from starting trastuzumab therapy to TIC was 14 months (interquartile range: 11–29.5 months). The mean number of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) assessment completed per year was 2.7 (range: 1.2–6.6, SD 1.1). Conclusion: Cardiotoxicity occurred in a minority of patients with HER2-positive MBC receiving trastuzumab-based therapy for more than one year. LVEF reductions to below the institutional lower limit of normal and therapy modifications were uncommon.