Focused on the growing threat of antimicrobial drug resistance among their targets, infection specialists have joined researchers from India and France in an antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) program meant to limit use of antimicrobial drug therapies in hospitals.
Currently, there exists no universal definition of what AMS entails which, according to these experts, impedes implementation of such programs globally. This group, therefore, has created a first, standardized set of actions meant to limit the rise of antimicrobial resistance. They are based on seven core factors and 29 related items. The core addresses include senior hospital management leadership on the topic, accountability and responsibilities, available expertise in infection management, education and practical training, along with monitoring, surveillance and reporting efforts.
The hope is that such measures can aid not only high-income countries but low- and middle-income nations as well.
“We hope this work will be useful to those who develop national stewardship guidelines in their respective countries,” said professor Céline Pulcini, secretary of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases’ (ESCMID) Study Group for Antimicrobial Stewardship (ESGAP). “That such core elements can also help effectively monitor the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programmes in hospitals. This is a consensus that is applicable around the world and not just in high-income countries. Antimicrobial resistance is a global problem that needs global solutions, for the benefit of the patients and the greater good. All hospitals should be able to implement a set of essential AMS strategies.”
The founding team for these strategies included 15 experts from 13 countries. Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, India, Kenya, Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States all lent experts to the effort.