Antibiotic

A survey completed by 672 members of the Emerging Infections Network showed that infectious disease clinicians were “highly involved” in outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy, or OPAT, but that only around one-third of respondents reported access to a dedicated OPAT program.

The University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging surveyed a national sample of U.S. adults about their opinions and experiences with antibiotics and found that nearly half expected antibiotic prescriptions at doctor visits and more than half have taken leftover antibiotics without talking to a health care professional.

As was recently reported in the fifth edition of the Chain Reaction report, more than a dozen of the top 20 restaurant chains in the United States received failing grades for antibiotic use in beef — a sign that the industry must expand its commitment to address the overuse of antibiotics, experts suggested.

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.

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, according to a recent study. Researchers said the data can help to inform and improve stewardship programs.

Infectious Disease News attended the World Anti-Microbial Resistance Congress in Washington, D.C., and asked Cornelius (Neil) J. Clancy, MD, associate professor of medicine and director of the extensively drug-resistant pathogen lab and mycology program at the University of Pittsburgh, what he saw and heard during the meeting.

WASHINGTON — In this video from the World Anti-Microbial Resistance Congress, Debra A. Goff, PharmD, FIDSA, an infectious diseases specialist at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, discusses the reasons why hospitals are slow to use new antibiotics.

Prospective audit and feedback is a staple intervention used by antimicrobial stewardship programs, or ASPs, to reduce antimicrobial use and improve patient outcomes. The intensity of the approach can vary.

In this video from the World Anti-Microbial Resistance Congress, Kerry LaPlante, PharmD, FCCP, FIDSA, a professor of pharmacy at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy, discusses the pharmacist’s role in antibiotic stewardship.

The fifth annual World Anti-Microbial Resistance Congress — to be held in Washington, D.C., from Nov. 7 to 8 — will address antibiotic research and development, diagnostics, antimicrobial stewardship and innovation.