National Antibiotic Initiative

Inappropriate and unnecessary overuse of antibiotics in hospital and outpatient settings has led to a rise within the variety of drug-resistant bacterial strains over the past few a long time. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these “super” bacteria cause 2 million illnesses and over 23,000 deaths within the United States alone¹. In March 2015, the White House issued a press release National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria. The plan’s goals include¹: :

1. They slow the emergence of resistant bacteria and stop the spread of resistant infections.
2. Strengthen national “One Health” surveillance efforts to combat resistance.
3. Progress in the event and application of rapid and modern diagnostic tests for the identification and characterization of resistant bacteria.
4. Accelerating basic and applied research and development of recent antibiotics, therapeutics and vaccines.
5. Improving international cooperation and capability to forestall, surveillance, control and antibiotic research and development of antibiotic resistance.

By 2020, the predominant consequence of Goal 1 might be to ascertain antibiotic stewardship programs in all acute care hospitals and healthcare settings². The core elements of hospital antibiotic stewardship programs will include:^1.2: :

• Establishing leadership commitment by committing the needed human, financial and IT resources.
• Designate a single physician leader, preferably formally trained in infectious diseases, to be chargeable for program outcomes.
• Appoint a single pharmacist leader with expertise in medicines to be chargeable for working to enhance using antibiotics.
• Provide support from a multidisciplinary team including infection prevention control, nursing, information technology, laboratory and quality improvement.
• Implementing policies and interventions to enhance antibiotic use, ensuring patients receive the precise antibiotic at the precise time, at the precise dose and for the precise duration.
• Implementation of not less than one really useful motion, equivalent to systemic review of ongoing treatment after the established initial treatment period (i.e. “antibiotic timeout” after 48 hours).
• Monitoring antibiotic prescribing and resistance programs.
• Educating physicians about resistance and optimal drug prescribing.

Healthcare leaders and physicians in all settings should focus efforts on implementing these recommendations to scale back the variety of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Bibliography
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Get Smart for Healthcare. Checklist of key elements of hospital antimicrobial stewardship programs

White House: National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria. Washington

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