Logo Image
|Podcasts|December 14, 2022

COVID-19 Pandemic Drove Carbapenem Resistance in Gram-Negative Infections

Author(s)Nina Cosdon

In this podcast episode, Christian Sandrock, MD, MPH, FCCP, describes the need to make significant progress in antimicrobial stewardship.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to reverberate across other areas of health and medicine.

Notably, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported antimicrobial resistance (AMR) worsened by at least 15% during the pandemic.

“The biggest one that is concerning us is carbapenem-resistance among the gram-negatives, and that has increased,” said Christian Sandrock, MD, MPH, FCCP, vice chair for Quality and Safety, division vice chief of Internal Medicine, director of Critical Care, and professor of medicine at UC Davis Medical Center.

In this latest podcast episode, Contagion Assistant Managing Editor John Parkinson interviews Sandrock about how his institution is battling these bugs, the need for new therapies, and what we can all do to boost antimicrobial stewardship.

From the vantage point of his teaching hospital in Sacramento, Sandrock said, “We’ve actually seen things get a little bit worse, unfortunately.” Now is the time to renew the fight against the global threat of AMR.

Specifically, Sandrock discusses significant strides need takes to combat the rise in hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (HABP) and ventilator-acquired bacterial pneumonia (VABP).

Related to this article

View more
Ceftriaxone Safety: Separating Signal From Risk
Ceftriaxone Safety: Separating Signal From Risk
A retrospective multihospital study found that severe adverse events occurred at similarly low rates with ceftriaxone and other IV cephalosporins suggesting there is no evidence to support avoiding ceftriaxone despite recent health department safety alerts.
Read more
Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis in a Trice
Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis in a Trice
A retrospective study of 225 patients across Cook County Department of Health clinics found that the novel 1-month 1HP regimen (isoniazid plus rifapentine) for latent TB infection had a completion rate comparable to standard longer regimens and was well tolerated, suggesting it may be a viable shorter alternative.
Read more
Drawing Borders Around a Borderless Specialty
Drawing Borders Around a Borderless Specialty
Editor in chief Jason Gallagher, PharmD, FCCP, FIDP, FIDSA, BCPS, discusses the proposed OMB rule restricting federal grants for international research collaboration, and how it threatens infectious disease medicine's inherently borderless surveillance networks, publication access, and knowledge-sharing systems.
Read more
Beyond Approval: Finding the Right Place for Emerging Gram-Negative Antibiotics
Beyond Approval: Finding the Right Place for Emerging Gram-Negative Antibiotics
The expanding gram-negative antibiotic pipeline offers important new treatment options; however, FDA approval alone does not define a drug’s place in therapy. Clinicians must weigh the clinical problems that each agent solves, the strength of the evidence behind it, and what remains unknown before incorporating these therapies into routine practice.
Read more
A Review of Vibrio vulnificus: Clinical Presentation and Treatment
A Review of Vibrio vulnificus: Clinical Presentation and Treatment
Vibrio species are bacteria that live in saltwater environments. When ingested orally or through contact with open wounds, some species can cause severe life-threatening infections, particularly in those with high-risk conditions, such as liver disease. Here is a review of Vibrio vulnificus and the recommended antibiotic treatment.
Read more