UNASSIGNED: Based on the 2017-2020 annual report of the Department of Health-Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program, significant resistance patterns have been observed for common disease-causing pathogens. In the hospital setting, antimicrobial stewardship programs have been implemented to optimize the use of antimicrobials. Drug utilization review studies provide essential feedback to improve prescribing and use of medications.
UNASSIGNED: This study aimed to review drug utilization of monitored parenteral antimicrobials among patients admitted from January to December 2019.
UNASSIGNED: The study employed a retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive research design. A retrospective chart review of drugs administered to patients was conducted.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 821 patients charts met the inclusion criteria. The patients\' ages ranged from 18 to 98 years old and 52% were females. General Internal Medicine practitioners (28%) were the top prescribers of monitored parenteral antimicrobials primarily for the management of moderate-risk community-acquired pneumonia (39%). They were mostly indicated for empirical treatment of infections (94%) and were given for an average of 5.73 days.Only 58% of the total cases had orders for culture and sensitivity testing. Of which, principally 47% had colony cultures. Blood (29%) and sputum (27%) were the most common specimens taken for culture and sensitivity testing. The microorganisms often isolated were Escherichia coli (19%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (18%), and Staphylococcus aureus (9%). In addition, extended-spectrum beta lactamase-producing gram-negative pathogens (4%) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (1%) were also isolated. All the microorganisms isolated showed most resistance to ampicillin (81%) and most susceptibility to colistin (100%). There were drug therapy-related problems encountered. There was one case of an adverse drug reaction (0.1%) and two cases of contraindications (0.2%). Therapeutic duplication was also observed in 5% of the cases. Moreover, 39% had instances of drug-drug interactions.Piperacillin-tazobactam had the highest consumption (79.50 defined daily doses/1,000-patient days) among the monitored parenteral antimicrobials.Some prescriptions were deemed inappropriate upon evaluation. 12% of cases were inappropriate based on the justification indicator. As for the critical indicators, duration of therapy (78%) was the main reason. Only four components of the DUE criteria indicators have met or exceeded the established threshold level.The cost analysis indicated that the total actual cost of therapy with the monitored parenteral antimicrobials amounted to ₱17,645,601.73. Considering Department of Health National Antibiotic Guidelines recommendations, ideal total cost of treatment was ₱14,917,214.29. Potential cumulative cost savings of ₱2,728,387.44 could have been achieved for patients admitted last 2019.
UNASSIGNED: Consumption of piperacillin-tazobactam was relatively high as compared to the other monitored parenteral antimicrobials covered in this study. Physicians at the study site seldom prescribe monitored parenteral antimicrobials as recommended by the National Antibiotic Guidelines. This is evidenced in the incidence of inappropriate therapy regimens, with inapt duration of therapy as the leading explanation.From the patient\'s perspective, the main economic implication was on the direct medical costs, particularly the increased cost of the actual antimicrobial therapy prescribed to manage various infections. Adherence of physicians to the established guidelines and selection of the most cost-effective therapy could have resulted in considerable cost savings.

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Background: There are concerns with inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics in hospitals especially broad spectrum in Pakistan and the subsequent impact on antimicrobial resistance rates. One recognized way to reduce inappropriate prescribing is for empiric therapy to be adjusted according to the result of culture sensitivity reports. Objective: Using culture sensitivity reports to optimize antibiotic prescribing in a teaching hospital in Pakistan. Methods: A retrospective observational study was undertaken in Ghurki Trust Teaching Hospital. A total of 465 positive cultures were taken from patients during the study period (May 2018 and December 2018). The results of pathogen identification and susceptibility testing from patient-infected sites were assessed. Additional data was collected from the patient\'s medical file. This included demographic data, sample type, causative microbe, antimicrobial treatment, and whether empiric or definitive treatment as well as medicine costs. Antimicrobial data was assessed using World Health Organization\'s Defined Daily Dose methodology. Results: A total of 497 isolates were detected from the 465 patient samples as 32 patients had polymicrobes, which included 309 g-negative rods and 188 g-positive cocci. Out of 497 isolates, the most common Gram-positive pathogen isolated was Staphylococcus aureus (Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus) (125) (25.1%) and the most common Gram-negative pathogen was Escherichia coli (140) (28.1%). Most of the gram-negative isolates were found to be resistant to ampicillin and co-amoxiclav. Most of the Acinetobacter baumannii isolates were resistant to carbapenems. Gram-positive bacteria showed the maximum sensitivity to linezolid and vancomycin. The most widely used antibiotics for empiric therapy were cefoperazone plus sulbactam, ceftriaxone, amikacin, vancomycin, and metronidazole whereas high use of linezolid, clindamycin, meropenem, and piperacillin + tazobactam was seen in definitive treatment. Empiric therapy was adjusted in 220 (71.1%) cases of Gram-negative infections and 134 (71.2%) cases of Gram-positive infections. Compared with empiric therapy, there was a 13.8% reduction in the number of antibiotics in definitive treatment. The average cost of antibiotics in definitive treatment was less than seen with empiric treatment (8.2%) and the length of hospitalization also decreased. Conclusions: Culture sensitivity reports helped reduced antibiotic utilization and costs as well as helped select the most appropriate treatment. We also found an urgent need for implementing antimicrobial stewardship programs in hospitals and the development of hospital antibiotic guidelines to reduce unnecessary prescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics.

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OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to validate a clinical aid to guide the assessment and management of a patient\'s listed beta-lactam antibiotic allergy for use in rural areas of Australia.
METHODS: Rural generalists, pharmacists and junior doctors completed an online assessment of eight patient case studies using the tool.
METHODS: The study was conducted in the Southern Downs, QLD.
METHODS: Twenty-seven rural generalists, nine pharmacists and eight junior doctors.
METHODS: The sensitivity of the selected allergy phenotype and management option for each case study was calculated by profession and overall. Hazardous responses were reported by management category and profession.
RESULTS: The sensitivity overall for phenotype selection was 82.4% (95% CI, 78.0-86.2) and for management 88.1% (95% CI, 84.2-91.2). The sensitivity for phenotype selection was lower for junior doctors than other professions 73.4% (95% CI, 60.9-83.7), but did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.08). A total of 10/308 responses for management recommended the least restrictive option of direct delabelling or oral challenge, where the correct answer was skin prick testing or referral to an allergist.
CONCLUSIONS: With further education the tool could be a key component of increased antimicrobial stewardship in rural areas in Australia.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to examine the clinical value of serial MRSA surveillance cultures to rule out a MRSA diagnosis on subsequent cultures during a patient\'s surgical intensive care unit (SICU) admission.
METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study to evaluate patients who received a MRSA surveillance culture at admission to the SICU (n = 6,915) and collected and assessed all patient cultures for MRSA positivity during their admission. The primary objective was to evaluate the transition from a MRSA negative surveillance on admission to MRSA positive on any subsequent culture during a patient\'s SICU stay. Percent of MRSA positive cultures by type following MRSA negative surveillance cultures was further analyzed.
RESULTS: 6,303 patients received MRSA nasal surveillance cultures at admission with 21,597 clinical cultures and 7,269 MRSA surveillance cultures. Of the 6,163 patients with an initial negative, 53 patients (0.87%) transitioned to MRSA positive. Of the 139 patients with an initial positive, 30 (21.6%) had subsequent MRSA positive cultures. Individuals who had an initial MRSA surveillance positive status on admission predicted MRSA positivity rates for cultures in qualitative lower respiratory cultures (64.3% versus. 3.1%), superficial wound (60.0% versus 1.6%), deep wound (39.0% versus 0.8%), tissue culture (26.3% versus 0.6%), and body fluid (20.8% versus 0.7%) cultures when compared to MRSA negative patients on admission.
CONCLUSIONS: Following MRSA negative nasal surveillance cultures patients showed low likelihood of MRSA infection suggesting empiric anti-MRSA treatment is unnecessary for specific patient populations. SICU patient\'s MRSA status at admission should guide empiric anti-MRSA therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To study distribution of carbapenemase genes namely; New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (blaNDM), Oxacillinase-48 (blaOXA48), Verona Integron-Encoded Metallo-beta-lactamase (blaVIM) and Imipenemase (blaIMP) in carbapenem resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), isolated from clinical samples.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital of western Maharashtra over six months period. CREs were identified by conventional disc diffusion and modified carbapenem inactivation method (mCIM). A total of 50 consecutive CRE isolates from clinical samples were subjected to home brewed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of carbapenemases.
RESULTS: Out of the 50 CRE isolates, at least one of the four carbapenemase genes was detected in 49 (98%) isolates. The frequency of distribution of these genes were NDM 90% (n = 45), OXA48 60% (n = 30) and VIM 12% (n = 6). Dual combination of blaNDM and blaOXA48 (50%) was the commonest pattern observed, which was frequently associated with Klebsiella pneumoniae.
CONCLUSIONS: The study indicate high prevalence of NDM warranting strict anti-microbial stewardship practices. Surveillance of CRE and resistance mechanism is essential to monitor the trend and take informed decision for appropriate anti-microbial therapy.

The World Health Organization recommended the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in the clinical settings to minimize the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The current study aimed to assess global research activity on AMS as one measure for efforts dedicated to contain AMR.
A bibliometric method was applied using Scopus. A validated search query was implemented. Bibliometric indicators and mapping were generated. The study period was from 1990 to 2019. The search query utilized the keywords \"antimicrobial stewardship\" or \"antibiotic stewardship\" in the titles or abstracts. In addition, documents with the term \"restrict\" or \"restriction\" if used with the terms \"antimicrobial\" or \"antibiotic\" were retrieved.
The search query returned 4402 documents. The keyword \"antimicrobial stewardship\" returned 2849 documents while the keyword \"antibiotic stewardship\" returned 1718 documents. The terms restrict/restriction and antimicrobial/antibiotics returned 209 documents. The number of publications and cumulative citations showed a steep and parallel increase in the last decade. The region of the Americas returned the most while the Eastern Mediterranean region returned the least. The United States (n = 1834, 41.7%) ranked first. Main research themes in the retrieved literature were the (1) impact of AMS on hospital length stay, (2) role of pharmacists, and (3) development of resistance of various pathogens. Clostridium difficile (n = 94) and Staphylococcus aureus (n = 76) were among the most frequently encountered author keywords. The Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology journal ranked first (n = 245, 5.6%, h-index = 134) while documents published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal (h-index = 321) received the highest number of citations per document (70.7). At the institutional level, the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (n = 93, 2.1%) ranked first followed by the Imperial College London (n = 86, 2.0%). The main funding sponsors were the National Institute of Health. Pfizer, Merck, and Bayer pharmaceutical companies played a key role in funding AMS research. International research collaboration between developed (n = 3693, 83.9%) and developing countries (n = 759, 17.2%).
The fight against AMR is a global responsibility and implementation of AMS need to be carried out across the globe. International research collaboration between developing and developed countries should be encouraged.

Antibiotic resistance is a public health emergency fueled by inappropriate antibiotic use. Public education campaigns often focus on global antibiotic resistance or societal harm of antibiotic misuse. There has been little research into what messages have the greatest impact on patient preferences for nonindicated antibiotics in ambulatory clinics.
We administered a survey at a primary care clinic in Baltimore, MD. A total of 250 participants rated 18 statements about potential harm from antibiotics on how each statement changed their likelihood to request antibiotics for an upper respiratory tract infection. Statements focused on potential harm either to the individual, to contacts of the individual, to society, and related or not to antibiotic resistance. Initial and final likelihood of requesting antibiotics was measured, and the impact of the statements in each category were compared using general linear models and Wilcoxon rank sum or Kruskal-Wallis tests.
All statements decreased patient likelihood to request antibiotics. Statements about harm to the individual or contacts of the individual decreased participant likelihood to request antibiotics significantly more than statements about societal harm of antibiotic misuse. Statements not discussing antibiotic resistance decreased participant likelihood of requesting antibiotics significantly more than statements discussing antibiotic resistance. Overall likelihood to request antibiotics decreased after the survey by 2.2 points on an 11-point Likert scale (P < .001).
When dissuading patients from requesting nonindicated antibiotics, providers and public health campaigns should focus on potential harm of nonindicated antibiotics to the individual rather than societal harm or antibiotic resistance.

Access to antibiotics without a prescription from retail pharmacies has been described as a major contributor to anti-microbial resistance (AMR) globally. In the context of high rates of AMR, the Chinese government has recently introduced strict policies regarding hospital antibiotic use, but the existing ban on antibiotic sales without prescription in retail pharmacies has not been strongly enforced. In 2016, a goal of prescription-only antibiotics by 2020 was announced. The objective of the study was to determine progress towards the 2020 goal, through estimating the proportion of retail pharmacies selling antibiotics without prescription across the three regions of mainland China.
Using the Simulated Patient method, we conducted a cross-sectional survey across purposively-sampled retail pharmacies in urban and rural areas of 13 provinces in eastern, central and western China. Medical students presented a scenario of a mild upper respiratory tract infection, following a strict three-step protocol. They recorded the pharmacy characteristics, and details of their experience, including at which step antibiotics were offered.
Complete data were obtained from 1106 pharmacies. Antibiotics were obtained in 925 (83.6, 95% CI: 81.5, 85.8%) pharmacies without a prescription, 279 (25.2%) at Stage 1 (symptoms only described), 576 (52.1%) at stage 2 (asked for antibiotics), and 70 (6.3%) at Stage 3 (asked for penicillin or cephalosporins). There were significant differences between provinces, with antibiotic access (at any stage) ranging from 57.0% (57/100) in Zhejiang (81/82) to 98.8% in Guizhou. However, there were no significant differences in access to antibiotics by level of city, county, township or village (P = 0.25), whether the pharmacy was part of a chain or independent (P = 0.23), whether a licensed pharmacist was attending (P = 0.82) or whether there was a sign saying that prescriptions were required for antibiotics (P = 0.19).
It is easy to obtain antibiotics without a prescription in retail pharmacies in China, despite the fact it is against the law. This must be addressed as part of the wider anti-microbial stewardship effort which could include intense enforcement of the existing law, supported by a public education campaign.