Biomarkers: Point Of Care

In the last decade, the number of prescriptions for antibiotics has increases. Even though, antibiotics are helpful, an excess amount of antibiotics can be dangerous. Quite often antibiotics are wrongly prescribed to cure viruses when they are meant to target bacteria. Antibiotics are a type of medicine that is prone to kill microorganisms, or bacteria. By examining the PBS documentary Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria and the article “U.S. government taps GlaxoSmithKline for New Antibiotics” by Ben Hirschler as well as a few other articles can help depict the problem that is of doctors prescribing antibiotics wrongly or excessively, which can led to becoming harmful to the body.

It is thought that overuse of antibiotics is related to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) (Austin). As a consequence, there has been an increasing trend to promote appropriate prescribing of antibiotics so as to maximise their therapeutic efficacy and minimise the outbreak of resistance. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs in hospitals are exemplary of a method used to promote rational prescription of antibiotics. In this review, we will briefly introduce some examples of AMR to illustrate the extent of this issue. We will then move on to describe AMS programs and the strategies required to

A couple times a year local and national mass media put the spotlight on problems connected to antibiotic overuse. Some people consider those problems to be real and serious, and others think that the discussed topics are nothing more than new “fashionable” subjects to talk about, distracting people from “real” problems, such as climbing gas prices or war expenses. Meanwhile, antibiotic overuse continues as a common practice among US doctors and agribusinesses for the last 20 years. The practice of antibiotic overuse has put patient’s health at risk, contributed to antibiotic resistance and increased bacterial mutation to a new, stronger level; as well as it hitting the economy with new costly expenses in health care. It is time to stop

Throughout my life, adults have insisted the use of antibiotics to fight against the most inconsequential illnesses, whether it’s the cold or the flu. However, neither illness is due to invasion of bacteria. This misuse can lead to antibiotic resistance, also known as antimicrobial resistance(AMR), currently one of the central issues facing the public health system. While the process for antibiotic resistance occurs naturally through the process of adaptation, the mismanagement of antibiotic resources has accelerated the rate at which the bacteria adapt. The occurrence of this misinformation isn’t limited to a few adults: even some of my peers suggest taking antibiotics when faced with the flu. This leads to asking whether AMR is truly a problem and are present regulations enough to combat the issue.

Every year a familiar scene plays out in clinic waiting rooms, chairs filled with miserable patients waiting to see their physician with complaints of a never ending cough and a constant nasal drip. More than likely, these patients will receive a prescription for antibiotics, but should they? Most acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs), do not require an antibiotic, the symptoms will resolve themselves over time without antibiotic treatment. Healthcare experts and scientists have warned the public about the dangers of overusing antibiotics, and there are thousands of studies to support that fact, but no one is listening. Patients are convinced they need to have antibiotic treatment, and somehow their time is wasted if they leave empty

Antimicrobial stewardship (AS) can be attained while fostering quality patient satisfaction. Interdisciplinary standards of practice exist to ensure evidence-based prescribing practices yet the pervasive use of antibiotics remains rampant globally. This is a multifaceted topic that impacts primary care prescribers, pharmacists, nurses, pharmaceutical companies, governing bodies, educational institutions, research teams, and the general population. This article will investigate how Canadian nurse practitioners (NPs) are in a prime position to influence an overdue revolution in AS, specifically for uncomplicated viral upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) of children ages two to ten in primary care.

Upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), including acute otitis media (AOM) are the most common cause of ambulatory physician visits and antimicrobial prescriptions in children1,2. The most common bacterial causes of URTI are Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae, though the majority of cases are caused by viral pathogens 3–10. Distinguishing between viral and bacterial URTI can be difficult. Reports on quality of antimicrobial prescriptions have shown a 30-50% of all out-patient prescriptions due to (upper) respiratory tract infections to be inappropriate2,10,11. In Europe the quality of prescription is higher in the north of the continent, including Iceland compared to in the south12. Conversely, many factors contribute to the overuse of antimicrobials2,13–15, which in turn results to increase in antimicrobial resistance16,17. Contributing factors cited by by physicians to cause over-prescription include uncertainty of diagnosis, fear of disease complications, lack of perception of harmful effects of antimicrobials, not perceiving their own prescription practices to be a problem, pressure by patients, limited time, fear of damaging doctor-patient relationship in addition to language, cultural and educational barriers2,13–15. Antimicrobials were long a mainstay treatment against AOM in fear of rare, but dangerous complications, which have later been found to be unfounded, asnd

Research has revealed how overprescribing antibiotic creates several adverse outcomes, including the development of multidrug resistant organisms, Clostridium difficile infection, and increased costs of health care (Myung et al., 2015). The Consumer Report (2015) raised concern for the overuse of antibiotics and how it leads to the loss of the ability to treat serious infections. Doctors,

Antibiotics-resistant organisms have become one of the most serious threats to public health, infecting over two million people and killing approximately 23,000 people annually.1 According to the CDC, “total inappropriate antibiotic use,” such as prescribing unnecessary antibiotics or giving the wrong dose or duration, makes up to 50% of all outpatient antibiotic use,2,3 and in 2009, the United States spent $10.7 billion on antibiotics, indicating that there is a lot of potential money to save.4

You arrive to your doctor’s office with a terrible case of pneumonia. He prescribes you antibiotics, urging you to remain persistent in your doses and to not forget to take them as directed. You comply, as you should, and notice that you no longer show the symptoms that you did a few days ago. You come back next month, however, with a more violent case, seeking further treatment from your doctor. He then prescribes a heftier form of the antibiotic, ensuring a gradual recovery per 6 hours. The flaw in this doctor-patient exchange is very simple: treating, not preventing, the disease is advised. This does not necessarily mean that it is inconsiderate of the doctor to prescribe the antibiotics; as a matter of fact, short-term antibiotics in

Future studies should concentrate on introducing intravenous antibiotics to pre-hospital setting, which would dramatically decrease the time interval to administration of antibiotics. However, safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness would need to be taken into account through conducting randomized controlled trials to find out the effect on reducing delay, infection and occurrence of adverse effects

Antibiotic stewardship program for this study is the independent variable, which is operationally defined as a program that provides education to clinician on the diagnosis, treatment plan and strategy for the prevention of CDI. In this program, a checklist with high, medium and low risk antibiotics is provided to prescribers with guidelines and microbiological diagnostic to help prevent the inappropriate diagnosis of high risk antibiotics. In this list, Tetracycline, Linezolid, Fosfomycin, Vancomycin, Daptomycin, Metronidazole, and Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole were identified as the low

The development and advancement of antibiotic resistance is dependent on a number of factors, and cannot be resolved with one single solution. Research suggests the best strategy to manage the misuse of antibiotics leading to antibiotic resistance, is mandating all hospitals to implement an antimicrobial stewardship program. This solution meets all of the required criteria and is a sensible approach in resolving the growing rate of resistant. Making antimicrobial stewardships a part of the patient safety effort will help bring new support and spark the conversation that must take place in order to make advancement in resolving antibiotic resistance. Multiple studies have been conducted to evaluate the before and after introduction of ASPs and

The clinical question that guides the search for a quantitative article is: In hospitalized adults, does implementation of prevention control measures decrease antibiotic resistance?

Eighty percent of antibiotic prescribing takes place in general practice (Haddox, 2013). Therefore, focus of limiting antibiotic