Samer Ellahham
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, UAE
Title: Antibiotic stewardship: A necessity not a luxury
Biography
Biography: Samer Ellahham
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance is increasing, and antimicrobial stewardship is of the utmost importance to optimize the use of antimicrobials to prevent the development of resistance and improve patient outcomes. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared antimicrobial resistance a global health issue. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that each year in the United States approximately 2 million people develop an infection that is resistant to antibiotics and about 23,000 of these people die because of the infection. The program for antibiotic stewardship should involve infection prevention professionals, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, trainees, patients, and families. Patients and families are included as part of the program to ensure they understand the importance of compliance with antibiotic treatment. Included as part of the program is the need for proper use of antibiotics for prophylaxis in addition to properly prescribing antibiotics for infections. Implementing an antibiotic stewardship program takes time and resources. To gain hospital wide acceptance and increase success for the program, formal implementation is recommended as well as leadership support for staffing, technical, and financial resources. Antimicrobial stewardship incorporation in caregiver daily practice, can improve patient safety and care, reduce the unnecessary use of valuable resources, and reduce resistance.