Antimicrobials News

The Infectious Diseases Society of America has advocated for the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) in every hospital. This year, CMS, under rule 3346-F, agreed, and now requires, that even previously exempt critical access hospitals implement an ASP. CMS is vague on what an ASP is or means and states: “For the implementation of antibiotic stewardship programs, guidance is available from several organizations, including IDSA, [Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)], American Society for Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) and CDC.” The documents issued by ASHP and CDC are not true guidelines. Essentially, CMS leans heavily on the joint IDSA/SHEA guidelines, first published in 2007 and updated in 2016.

Antimicrobial stewardship improves patient outcomes, protects public health and elevates the field of infectious diseases. Despite its significant benefits, there are important opportunities for improvement and the Infectious Diseases Society of America is committed to strengthening stewardship implementation through collaborative, evidence-based approaches.

The use of macrolide antibiotics during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk for major malformations — particularly cardiovascular malformations — in children, according to research published in BMJ.

Empirical anti-MRSA therapy was not associated with reduced mortality for any group of patients hospitalized for pneumonia, even those at high risk for MRSA, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The addition of an antistaphylococcal beta-lactam antibiotic to standard of care — IV vancomycin or daptomycin — did not improve outcomes for patients with MRSA bloodstream infections and increased the risk for acute kidney injury, leading to the early termination of the study, researchers reported in JAMA.

The novel Triplex vaccine induced immunity to cytomegalovirus, or CMV, and reduced rates of complications from the virus in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant, according to results from a phase 2 randomized clinical trial published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

A pair of researchers recently suggested in Science that sewage could be used for surveillance of antimicrobial resistance because it could be implemented quickly at a low cost. According to the report, such a system would have “substantial and rapid benefits” in many settings, including resource-poor ones.

Patients prescribed antivirals and antibiotics during treatment for influenza have a lower risk for 30-day hospitalization compared with patients given antivirals alone, according to findings published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Implementation of a procalcitonin-guided antibiotic prescription guideline did not affect 90-day or 12-month mortality compared with standard care among patients who presented to an ED for suspected lower respiratory tract infections, according to study results.

In this bimonthly column, pediatric infectious disease specialists Asif Noor, MD, FAAP, and Ulka Kothari, MD, share valuable insight on antimicrobial stewardship in pediatric outpatient settings and explain why it is important for your practice. Antimicrobial stewardship programs, or ASPs, have become a crucial intervention to spare patients and facilities from the burden of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, which are responsible for one death every 15 minutes, according to updated estimates from the CDC.