Antimicrobial Stewardship

Steffanie Strathdee, PhD, had to navigate care for her husband who became gravely ill with a multidrug resistant bacterial infection while they were on vacation overseas. He recovered thanks to the use of phage therapy. From that experience, she has dedicated her life to getting phage therapy to the masses.

The Biden Administration addresses antimicrobial resistance with new project, company voluntarily recalls its antifungal, and a fatal case of the plague is reported in the US.

The subject is one where it does not garner the attention of other serious health topics, but key stakeholders say it should.

Sam Aitken, PharmD, president-elect of the Society of Infectious Disease Pharmacists (SIDP), discusses how this strategy is one significant part of a complex puzzle to decrease antimicrobial resistance.

Hurricane season is accompanied by an uptick in infectious diseases associated with environmental and water exposures.

Through policy and fostering innovation, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) is working towards reducing antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Patient advocate Ella Balasa has been living with cystic fibrosis her whole life. She experienced a multidrug resistant infection in 2019 and is speaking about her personal experiences at the World AMR Congress reminding people about the need to improve the antibiotic development paradigm.

In preclinical studies, the antimicrobial, clovibactin, was shown to have susceptibility against a broad spectrum of pathogens and also worked against a specific bacteria in 2 animal studies.

This is a challenging pathogen, requiring pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic considerations; the recent FDA approval of sulbactam-durlobactam offers new hope.

This conference is addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from different perspectives and look at strategies to reduce this global health problem.

Trial of standard vs short course antimicrobial treatment of uncomplicated UTI in children favors standard, but with caveat for early responders.

Five organizations have updated the 2014 compendium, "Strategies to Prevent Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Transmission and Infection in Acute Care Hospitals." In doing so, they have elevated antimicrobial stewardship from an “additional practice” to an “essential practice.”

The Outpatient Automated Stewardship Information System (OASIS) is a platform that allows clinicians the ability to improve their prescribing practices in hopes of delivering a more judicious approach and moving towards stewardship.

The strategy for administering beta-lactam antibiotics for treating critically ill patients with sepsis showed no clinical difference in a study of continuous versus intermittent administration of meropenem.

Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungal pathogen, has become a significant concern in Israel. A recent study reveals a 30-fold increase in C auris cases in 2021, with a strong correlation to COVID-19 surges.

Though the drug is initially more expensive, treating C diff infection with fidaxomicin reduced costs overall by reducing CDI recurrences.

As the first line of acute care, emergency departments are key stewards of antibiotics.

So far, the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle has confirmed 33 patients have been infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria, 9 of whom have died.

New evidence suggests that oral transitional therapy may be a promising option for the treatment of infective endocarditis (IE). A retrospective cohort study reveals comparable clinical outcomes between oral and intravenous antibiotic regimens.

Unnecessary antibiotics for viral infections and incorrect prescriptions for bacterial infections have significant consequences, including increased adverse effects and healthcare expenditures.

An expert in infectious diseases reviews best practices for improving personalized medicine when treating complicated urinary tract infections and highlights the importance of antimicrobial stewardship.

Kim Leuthner, PharmD, FIDSA, comments on the effect of COVID-19 on the epidemiology of complicated UTIs, the use of antibiotics, and antimicrobial resistance.

An infectious disease clinical specialist shares treatment considerations for patients with complicated urinary tract infections, including for patients with comorbidities and older patients, and reviews antimicrobial therapies for multidrug-resistant UTIs.

Kim Leuthner, PharmD, FIDSA, provides insight on distinguishing between complicated and uncomplicated UTIs, and patients who are at high risk for developing complicated UTIs.

The innovative antibiotic Xacduro has received FDA approval for its efficacy against ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia caused by Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus. The intravenous therapy combines sulbactam and durlobactamto target multidrug-resistant and carbapenem-resistant strains.

Today, we celebrate the crucial role of infectious disease pharmacists in combating infectious diseases and promoting patient safety.

Empiric therapy for severe Salmonella disease remains effective, but fluoroquinolone resistance calls for a shift towards trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole as the preferred oral treatment for non-severe cases.

Sulbactam-durlobactam is efficacious against carbapenem-resistant infections, and Innoviva is preparing for the antibiotic's PDUFA at the end of this month.

Antifungal therapy was frequently initiated before essential diagnostic elements confirmed invasive fungal infections in critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) offers benefits for patients as well as providing cost effectiveness; however, it is not without its challenges. Two clinicians provide insights on this modality.