Let’s look at a study from Brazil on an antimicrobial stewardship programme
Background
Antimicrobial resistance is when antimicrobial medicines no longer work well to kill microorganisms. This is a major public health problem. To reduce this, some hospitals apply antimicrobial stewardship programmes. These programmes are strategies to reduce the unnecessary use of antimicrobials and to slow down resistance. This research focuses on whether an antimicrobial stewardship programme has any effect on patient health, resistance patterns in the hospital, and the costs of antimicrobial use.
What the researchers did
They conducted a study in Brazil to check antimicrobial use from January 2019 to December 2023 and noted the changes before and after implementation of the stewardship programme in ICU patients. The researchers compared what happened:
Before the programme (2019–2020)
After the programme started (2021–2023)
They particularly focused on these medicines: ceftriaxone, meropenem, piperacillin–tazobactam, vancomycin, and polymyxin B.
What they found
After the new programme started:
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The hospital used less of several strong antibiotics.
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The bacteria in the ICU became more sensitive to many of these antibiotics, or at least did not become more resistant.
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The hospital spent less money on antibiotics, saving about 174,000 US dollars per year.
Why it matters
These findings are important:
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To reduce the unnecessary use of strong antibiotics,
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To reduce overall cost, and
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To keep antibiotics working well in the future.
However, this study includes samples from the same patients multiple times. Also, it was conducted in a single hospital in Brazil.More studies in other places are needed to confirm these findings.
Did this post help you understand how hospitals can use antibiotics more wisely?
MBH/PS