Antimicrobial stewardship: lessons from human healthcare

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Public Health
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global threat, exacerbated by dwindling new drug development.
• Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are crucial in human healthcare to combat resistance.
• The principles of ASPs may be transferable to veterinary medicine due to frequent antimicrobial use in animals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the importance of antimicrobial stewardship in human healthcare.
• To explore the potential application of these strategies in veterinary medicine.
• To emphasize the need for prudent antimicrobial use to conserve drug efficacy.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing antimicrobial stewardship strategies in human healthcare.
• Discussion of multidisciplinary approaches and key personnel involved.
• Consideration of transferable concepts to animal health.

Main Results:

• ASPs involve coordinated efforts to ensure antimicrobials are used judiciously.
• Effective stewardship requires input from various healthcare professionals and robust surveillance systems.
• Simultaneous implementation of multiple strategies can complicate evaluation.

Conclusions:

• Antimicrobial stewardship is essential for mitigating resistance in human pathogens.
• Applying similar critical approaches in veterinary medicine is advisable to preserve antimicrobial effectiveness.
• A concerted effort is needed to conserve available antimicrobials for future use.