Antimicrobial resistance

Rapid UTI test wins £8m Longitude Prize on Antimicrobial Resistance

The winning test uses a urine sample on a smartphone-sized cartridge to identify the presence of a bacterial infection in 15 minutes and the antibiotic required within 45 minutes.…

Pharmacist coordinating UK participation in global penicillin allergy labelling study

Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust will be the first UK health service to join the ‘International Network of Antibiotic Allergy Nations’ study.…

How pharmacists can contribute to effective antimicrobial reviews

Best practice principles and practical advice for structuring antimicrobial reviews and effective stewardship practices.…

MPs call for more research into bacteriophages as alternative to antibiotics in response to AMR

A House of Commons committee has called for more research into bacteriophages to allow them to be used more widely in UK healthcare to tackle resistance to antibiotics.…

Pharmacists provide antibiotics only where clinically appropriate, minor ailments scheme data show 

Data from community pharmacies in the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board area have shown 71% of women with a UTI and 55% of patients with a sore throat received antibiotics from the pharmacy.…

Antibiotic prescribing increases by more than 8% in one year

Data published by the government show that there was an increase in antibiotic prescribing, the number of antibiotic-resistant infections and antimicrobial resistance-associated deaths in England between 2021 and 2022.…

Nearly 900 packs of medicine returned to Midlands pharmacies during regional antibiotic amnesty

The Scottish government has said it also intends to run an amnesty campaign via community pharmacies.…

Academics warn prime minister of ‘extremely serious’ AMR consequences of Pharmacy First scheme in England

In an open letter to Rishi Sunak, senior academics have warned that the proposed scheme could "reverse the gains it makes" unless there is a strong focus on provision of antibiotics.…

NICE says more evidence needed for newer UTI point-of-care tests

Several newer point-of-care tests were not recommended in latest guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, in which it concluded that more research needs to be carried out on their accuracy.…

Nearly half of unnecessary days of antibiotic use follow 72-hour review, study results show

The researchers said their discovery may help to provide a target for reducing excess antimicrobial therapy in line with the national antimicrobial resistance strategy.…