Antimicrobial stewardship generally refers to hospital-based programs that attempt to improve the use of antimicrobial agents. These programs have arisen in large part because of the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance, and the sad (but entirely logical) recognition that antibiotic prescription guidelines are insufficient for improving antibiotic use and often poorly implemented. Appropriate antibiotic prescription […]
The Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus was first discovered by Scottish surgeon Sir Alexander Ogston in his garden shed “laboratory” in 1881 (the short Wikipedia article on his discovery of S. aureus makes for quite interesting reading). It is a human commensal and an opportunistic pathogen, colonizing approximately a third of all humans, particularly those with certain conditions such as […]
Kind of a shameless plug, as I was quoted rather extensively in this September 25th article on antibiotics in Straits Times’ Mind Your Body section. But I am always very glad when the popular press runs an article on antimicrobial resistance or over-prescription of antibiotics – bringing awareness to the community is one of the key […]
Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus complex (A. baumannii for short) are Gram-negative bacteria that are found in the soil and environment, and are better known among the hospital medical community as opportunistic pathogens that are also highly antimicrobial resistant. Because of the ability of some strains to break down hydrocarbons, including diesel and crude oil, A. baumannii have also been tested […]
Carbapenemases are bacterial enzymes that break down the carbapenem class of antibiotics. As previously mentioned, these are some of the most powerful and broad-spectrum antibiotics, used for treatment of life-threatening infections and those infections caused by multidrug-resistant nosocomial bacteria. The majority of these carbapenemases are found in Gram-negative bacteria that are not able to catabolize […]
On Thursday (18th September), the White House declared war again, but on antibiotic-resistant bacteria – a far less controversial decision. The initial multi-pronged strategy includes the following executive actions: Formation of a new inter-agency task force to develop a 5-year national action plan to implement the: National Strategy for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. Launching a USD20 […]
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(12)70300-6/fulltext This open access article was published more than a year and a half ago in Lancet Infectious Diseases – one of the top journals for clinical infectious diseases research. 2,061 patients aged 18 years and older from 12 European countries were recruited when they presented to primary care (GP) practices for acute lower respiratory […]
In the Sunday Times today, Editor at Large Han Fook Kwang wrote on the issue of overcharging by doctors and the healthcare industry, with one of the points being how the promotion of medical tourism in Singapore had perhaps also helped to promote such a culture (“Doctors v Doctors” – behind a paywall so I won’t […]
Antimicrobial resistance is one of the greatest challenges of human health in general, and the field of infectious diseases in particular. It is – at its most basic level – an “arms race” between humans developing effective (and safe) antimicrobial compounds for the treatment of infections, and microbes developing or acquiring resistance determinants to these […]
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