Antimicrobial stewardship as part of the infection prevention effort
Rebekah W Moehring1, Deverick J Anderson
1Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA, rebekah.moehring@duke.edu.
Abstract:
Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) optimize antimicrobial use to decrease the incidence of infection with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) and the emergence of drug resistance, to improve patient outcomes and safety, and to decrease hospital costs. ASPs achieve these goals through several types of interventions that can occur before or after the antimicrobial has been prescribed; interventions can also be "active" or "passive." We believe that active post-prescription interventions such as post-prescription audit and feedback have the most supportive evidence and most promise. Stewardship activities must be integrated into already established efforts for infection prevention. We believe it is critical that antimicrobial stewardship, infection control, pharmacy, information technology, and clinical microbiology work collaboratively in order to decrease the incidence of infection due to MDRO.
Insights
Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) optimize antibiotic use to combat drug resistance and improve patient safety. Active interventions, like post-prescription audit and feedback, show the most promise for reducing multidrug-resistant organism infections.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Hospital Administration
- Public Health
Background:
- Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global threat.
- Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) lead to increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs.
- Optimizing antimicrobial use is crucial for patient outcomes and safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role and effectiveness of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs).
- To identify promising intervention strategies within ASPs.
- To emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in combating MDROs.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on antimicrobial stewardship interventions.
- Analysis of different intervention types: pre- vs. post-prescription, active vs. passive.
- Emphasis on evidence supporting active post-prescription audit and feedback.
Main Results:
- Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are effective in optimizing antimicrobial use.
- Active post-prescription interventions, particularly audit and feedback, demonstrate significant promise.
- Integration of stewardship with infection prevention efforts is essential.
Conclusions:
- Active post-prescription interventions are highly effective in antimicrobial stewardship.
- Multidisciplinary collaboration among stewardship, infection control, pharmacy, IT, and microbiology is critical.
- Successful ASPs reduce MDRO infections, improve patient outcomes, and lower healthcare costs.
More Related Videos
12:03Antimicrobial Synergy Testing by the Inkjet Printer-assisted Automated Checkerboard Array and the Manual Time-kill Method
Published on: April 18, 2019
11:17Multiplex Therapeutic Drug Monitoring by Isotope-dilution HPLC-MS/MS of Antibiotics in Critical Illnesses
Published on: August 30, 2018