A time for action: antimicrobial resistance needs global response

A multicenter point prevalence survey of antibiotic use in Punjab, Pakistan: findings and implications

“…Effective surveillance of antibiotic use is invaluable to help rationalize antibiotic prescribing, thereby helping control the emergence of multidrug resistance microbes, observing the efficiency of policies, identifying targets for quality improvement and informing the policymakers [7,9,28,44,45]. The global threat of increasing AMR prompted us to conduct this first point prevalence survey among selected hospitals of Pakistan [10]. In the present study, 77.6% of admitted patients on one single day had consumed at least one antimicrobial.…”

“…However, all these benefits are related to their rational use [4]. Unfortunately, the irrational use of antibiotics increases the risk of development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), increasing morbidity, mortality and costs, with costs including additional visits to emergency departments, extra prescriptions for adjuvant therapies as well as prolonged hospital stay, leading to worldwide calls to address this [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. For example, colistin has re-emerged as a valued antibiotic despite its side-effects because of the emergence of carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria [14,15].…”

Ongoing strategies to improve the management of upper respiratory tract infections and reduce inappropriate antibiotic use particularly among lower and middle-income countries: findings and implications for the future

“…Unfortunately, antibiotics can achieve good health outcomes even in patients with viral infections, which runs counter to changing public perceptions of their efficacy [56][57][58][59] . Concerns with rising rates of AMR, coupled with the continued irrational use of antibiotics to treat self-limiting infections such as upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), have resulted in multiple initiatives internationally, regionally, and nationally aimed at reversing current trends 6,8,21,36,40,[60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74] .…”

Drug Resistance in Bacteria, Fungi, Malaria, and Cancer

“…However, a cross-national study conducted among physicians in England and France found only 31 % and 26 % of physicians, respectively, knew the correct prevalence of antibiotic misuse and of MRSA in their hospitals (Pulcini et al 2011). These and other studies demonstrate the need to tackle all key stakeholder groups to enhance appropriate prescribing and dispensing of antibiotics (Jinks et al 2016). These and other studies demonstrate the need to tackle all key stakeholder groups to enhance appropriate prescribing and dispensing of antibiotics (Jinks et al 2016).…”