Antimicrobial stewardship programmes: the need for wider engagement

Antimicrobial stewardship across 47 South African hospitals: an implementation study

“…17 The creation of such alternative models for stewardship that can be embedded within existing systems is dependent on local context and resources and is key to success across diverse settings. 18 Our study findings support the creation of alternative models to decrease antibiotic overprescribing as a possible approach in South African hospitals. Although some people might question the applicability of our findings to the public sector where most of the population in South Africa receive health care, we would contend that, despite insufficient infectious diseases expertise, this model could be valuable in view of the similar documented overprescribing practices.…”

A Qualitative Analysis of Implementation of Antimicrobial Stewardship at 3 Academic Hospitals: Understanding the Key Influences on Success

“…Conclusions : Ensemble, ces résultats aident à mieux comprendre les méthodes et mécanismes d'influence employés par les responsables de la gérance des antimicrobiens pour faire en sorte que les cliniciens fassent un meilleur usage des antimicrobiens, ce qui permettra ensuite de guider INTRODUCTION R educing the morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases is of global interest and is a priority safety and quality issue. [1][2][3] Nevertheless, antimicrobials are prescribed for about one-third of hospitalized patients, often inappropriately. [4][5][6][7] In intensive care units (ICUs), antimicrobials are prescribed for roughly 70% of patients.…”

“…7 Inappropriate antimicrobial use is linked to the development and spread of drug-resistant pathogens, 8,9 which are associated with increased morbidity, mortality, lengths of hospital stay, and health care costs. [1][2][3]7,8,[10][11][12][13] With antimicrobial resistance rates rising and few new antimicrobials being developed, antimicrobial stewardship programs are increasingly employed as a key strategy for optimizing antimicrobial prescribing in a variety of patient care settings. [1][2][3][14][15][16][17] "Antimicrobial stewardship" is the umbrella term for an evidence-based knowledge translation strategy involving comprehensive quality improvement activities.…”

“…Collectively, these activities aim to optimize the use of antimicrobials, improve patient outcomes, reduce the development of antimicrobial resistance and hospital-acquired infections such as Clostridium difficile, and decrease health care costs. [1][2][3]18,19 Antimicrobial stewardship programs are interdisciplinary and may involve physicians, pharmacists, infection preventionists, nurses, other health care providers, and support personnel. [1][2][3] Interdisciplinary teams include stewards, who are knowledgeable about the relationship between antimicrobial use and resistance and who are responsible for influencing the use of these drugs.…”

“…[1][2][3]7,8,[10][11][12][13] With antimicrobial resistance rates rising and few new antimicrobials being developed, antimicrobial stewardship programs are increasingly employed as a key strategy for optimizing antimicrobial prescribing in a variety of patient care settings. [1][2][3][14][15][16][17] "Antimicrobial stewardship" is the umbrella term for an evidence-based knowledge translation strategy involving comprehensive quality improvement activities. Collectively, these activities aim to optimize the use of antimicrobials, improve patient outcomes, reduce the development of antimicrobial resistance and hospital-acquired infections such as Clostridium difficile, and decrease health care costs.…”