Antimicrobial stewardship

We must follow these five rules to avert an antimicrobial resistance crisis

Simply reducing the use of antibiotics, while discovering new ones, is not enough to keep resistance at bay — healthcare professionals need to understand bacteria’s evolutionary biology if they are to subvert it.…

Trust-wide microbiology electronic referral system supports antimicrobial stewardship

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) can be defined as the approach to promoting and monitoring judicious use of antimicrobials to preserve their future effectiveness. With demands on microbiological clinical services at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals increasing over recent years, requests fo…

Why the newly licensed antibiotic cefepime should be introduced to UK formularies

Healthcare trusts should consider introducing the antibiotic cefepime to their outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy services to tackle infections that are becoming resistant to carbapenem antibiotics.…

Reconsidering community pharmacy’s role in cold and flu

Outlining the vital role of each member of the pharmacy team and highlighting best practice when patients present with cold and flu ensures a consistent, high standard of care is available across pharmacy.…

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Providing self-care advice for cold and flu keeps antibiotics working

Antimicrobial stewardship is not just the remit of selected healthcare professionals — everyone in society has a role to play in protecting our supply of antimicrobial products.…

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Community pharmacy ‘must provide consistent care’ for cold and flu

Bringing pharmacy representatives together to discuss the role community pharmacy teams have in cold and flu management.…

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Updated guidance says patients should receive antibiotics within four hours of pneumonia diagnosis

Antimicriobial treatment for hospital and community-acquired pneumonia should be started within four hours of diagnosis, according to updated guidance from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and Public Health England.…

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.…