10 stories for World Antibiotic Awareness Week
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World Antibiotic Awareness Week is being recognized this year from Nov. 18 to 24. Launched in 2015, the campaign “aims to increase global awareness of antibiotic resistance and to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance,” according to WHO.
To mark the occasion, Infectious Disease News compiled a list of 10 recent stories about antibiotics. – by Marley Ghizzone
CDC: Antibiotic resistance causes 1 death every 15 minutes in US
According to newly updated estimates published by the CDC, more than 2.8 million infections are caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens annually in the United Sates, resulting in at least 35,000 deaths — or one infection every 11 seconds and one death every 15 minutes. Read more.
The ‘broken’ antimicrobial market: A ‘looming cloud’ over medicine
Modern medicine may face dangerous setbacks if the antimicrobial market does not see a positive shift soon, experts agree. The current state of the antibiotic market is troubling. Funding is scarce, big pharmaceutical companies are shuttering their research and development programs and much of the burden is being left to smaller companies with fewer resources. Read more.
Outpatient overprescribing: ‘Cultural shift’ needed to spare antibiotics
In recent years, much emphasis has been placed on the cautious and appropriate use of antibiotics as a means of mitigating the threat of antimicrobial resistance. Yet antibiotic overprescribing remains a concern, particularly in outpatient settings such as the physician’s office, urgent care centers, clinics and EDs. Read more.
Most toothaches do not require antibiotics, new ADA guideline says
Antibiotics are not needed for most toothaches, the American Dental Association, or ADA, instructed in a published guideline, saying that antibiotics may do more harm than good in these cases. Research has shown that dentists prescribe around 10% of all antibiotics. Read more.
Most physicians lack on-site antimicrobials for treating gonorrhea and syphilis
Despite the trending rise in STDs in the U.S., data published in Emerging Infectious Diseases showed that most physicians do not have injectable antimicrobial drugs available on-site to treat gonorrhea and syphilis. Read more.
WHO launches campaign to promote antibiotics classification program
WHO announced a global campaign to promote its AWaRe antimicrobials classification index, with the hope that more countries will adopt the tool to reduce the spread of resistance. Read more.
Q&A: Nonprofit model for antibiotic development ‘overdue’
In a perspective published in The New England Journal of Medicine, experts argued for the establishment of a nonprofit model to sustain antibiotic development. Infectious Disease News asked two of the experts about the approach and how it would work. Read more.
Variation in antibiotic prescribing at urgent care centers is ‘intense’
An analysis of more than 1.1 million urgent care encounters in a large health care network revealed an “intense” variation in their antibiotic prescribing practices. Researchers said the data can help to inform and improve stewardship programs. Read more.
Clinical uptake of new anti-CRE agents ‘steady but slow’
Researchers estimated that approximately 23% of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, infections in the U.S. are treated with new anti-CRE antibiotics compared with about 28% of infections treated with IV polymyxins. Read more.
Procalcitonin-guided ASP recommendations shorten antibiotic therapy at community hospital
Physician compliance with procalcitonin-guided antimicrobial stewardship recommendations was associated with a reduction in length of antimicrobial therapy at a community hospital in Arkansas, researchers reported in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. Read more.