Antimicrobial Stewardship

At MAD-ID 2022, Payal K. Patel, MD, MPH, FIDSA, discussed how COVID-19 misinformation and lags in diagnostics contributed to inappropriate antibiotic use and offers some way to combat this trend.

“Clearly, stewardship is a team operation. It starts [with] the leadership, the clinical pharmacy, and coordination with infectious disease physicians truly has to be synergistic,” Goetz said in the keynote address at MAD-ID 2022.

Among community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) outpatients, 49% were prescribed unnecessary antibiotics.

Leveraging antimicrobial stewardship programs was crucial to ensure COVID-19 hospital inpatients received monoclonal antibody therapy quickly and safely.

To reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance, rapid laboratory diagnostics are needed to identify the pathogens in hospital patients with COVID-19 and sepsis.

Over half of patients admitted with positive SARS-CoV-2 testing received antibiotics, but evidence of bacterial infection is uncovered in far fewer cases. We may already be seeing the effects of antibiotic overprescribing.

Tetracycline-class antibiotic, omadacycline (Nuzyra), is FDA approved for community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI), and is also being studied for other potential indications.

The organization has its upcoming antimicrobial stewardship meeting in less than two weeks, and offers professional education and training in infectious diseases with a special emphasis on antimicrobial stewardship.

Antibiotic-resistant strains of the dangerous superbug C difficile have been identified in pigs and humans, suggesting zoonotic transmission is possible.

In the latest column from SIDP, clinicians discuss that along with the once-daily dosing for many indications, there are also compelling indications for twice-daily dosing.

Improving stool sample collecting and testing reduced C difficile underdiagnosis.

Researchers sought to assess antibiotic prescriptions associated with COVID-19 outpatient visits in Medicare beneficiary patients over the course of a year during the pandemic.

Investigators performed a systematic review to assess just how strong the association between race and urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children.

Antibiotic overuse is a longstanding problem in the medical community. A new study highlights the benefits of accurate point-of-care testing to differentiate between bacteria and viruses.

Entasis Therapeutics gave 2 oral presentations at ECCMID today detailing results of their ATTACK trial, investigating the safety and efficacy of sulbactam-durlobactam (SUL-DUR) for multidrug-resistant pathogens.

During the pandemic, antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections increased in hospitalized patients who tested positive or negative for COVID-19.

Although the development of antibiotics remains a challenge, there are some legislative strategies that could make it more attractive and get more players involved.

The tactic is seen as a way to ensure supplies of novel drugs in face of resistance crisis.

Investigators used procalcitonin (PCT) levels to guide antibiotic recommendations in pediatric intensive care units. PCT-guided antibiotic stewardship decreased the number of antibiotic days without leading to therapy failure.

Critical care pharmacists and PGY2CC residents made fewer antimicrobial stewardship interventions on the Mondays following weekends they worked.

Antimicrobial stewardship efforts, such as education for healthcare providers, significantly decreased community-acquired pneumonia antibiotic prescriptions in COVID-19 patients.

Selecting initial antibiotic for ventilator-associated pneumonia from Gram staining and resistance records could reduce broad spectrum agents.

A survey’s results show updating programs is largely dependent on resources and dedicated personnel.

A study found that hospital providers who prescribe unnecessarily high rates of antibiotics are likely to continue doing so over time.