Antimicrobial stewardship

Health board sees 40% reduction in Clostridium difficile cases after cutting antibiotic prescribing

A Welsh health board has seen an almost 40% reduction in the number of cases involving the ‘superbug’ Clostridium difficle as a result of cuts to antibiotic prescribing.…

Only 25% of patients with a UTI give a urine sample to confirm diagnosis

Most patients with urinary tract infections receive antibiotics on the day of diagnosis, but just a quarter have evidence of a urine sample being taken in their electronic health records, study results show.…

Point-of-care test could help reduce antibiotic use in COPD exacerbations, study finds

Point-of-care testing could help reduce antibiotic use in patients with exacerbations of COPD, study results published in the New England Journal of Medicine show.…

WHO urges countries to adopt antibiotic classification tool to protect against AMR

The World Health Organization is encouraging global adoption of a tool designed to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance.…

Reductions in antibiotics achievable if guidelines on prescribing duration observed, says NICE

Substantial reductions in antibiotic exposure could be achieved by ensuring that the duration of prescriptions fall in line with national guidance, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence has said.…

Pharmacists working with global AMR teams made CPO fellows

Some sixteen pharmacists who are part of teams tackling antimicrobial resistance in the developing world have been appointed ‘chief pharmaceutical officer global health fellows’.…

Antibiotic pollution and lack of regulation will have dire global consequences

Given the hot topic of antimicrobial resistance, one could only be shocked at reading New Scientist’s article ‘How antibiotic resistance is driven by pharmaceutical pollution’ (22 May 2019), which details the prolific dumping of antibiotic waste by factories into waterways in India. The …

At least one resident per care home on antibiotics, finds Boots UK study

A month-long survey looking at the antibiotic use of nearly 18,000 patients has revealed that at least one resident in each of 644 long-term care facilities in the UK was taking an antibiotic.…

Treat UTIs early in older adults ‘to minimise sepsis risk’

Delaying or withholding antibiotics in older adults with urinary tract infections is associated with an increased risk of bloodstream infection and all-cause mortality, research published in The BMJ has shown.…

Commonwealth antimicrobial stewardship partnerships announced

A total of 12 pharmacy-led teams from the UK are set to work with their counterparts in 4 African Commonwealth countries in a bid to exchange expertise in antimicrobial resistance stewardship.…