antimicrobial stewardship

Question 1

what is antimicrobial stewardship?

Answer 1

Coordinated interventions designed to improve and measure the appropriate use of antimicrobials by promoting the selection of the optimal antimicrobial drug regimen, dose, duration of therapy, and route of administration

Question 2

what does antimicrobial stewardship aim to achieve?

Answer 2

1. optimal clinical outcomes
2. minimise toxicity and other adverse events
3. reduce cost of healthcare infections
4. limit selection for antimicrobial resistant strains

Question 3

why is antimicrobial stewardship important?

Answer 3

aims to minimise emergence of resitance

Question 4

how does antimicrobial stewardship work in practice?

Answer 4

1. Does the patient need antibiotics?
2. Can we switch this to oral from IV?
3. Can we change broad-spectrum antibiotics to narrow-spectrum & targeted antibiotics?