Category: Antibiotic Resistance and Antibiotic Use (Stewardship)

Dentists: Improve patient safety by optimizing antibiotic prescribing

Dr. Erinne Kennedy is smiling wearing a purple blazer and a white collared shirt underneath. The background is faded.

Dentists prescribe approximately 10% of all outpatient antibiotics in the United States.1 Many of these antibiotic prescriptions may not be needed based on existing guidelines. Studies show that patients with total joint replacement (TJR) commonly receive unnecessary antibiotic prophylaxis [PDF – 1 Page] despite clinical practice guidelines from the American Dental Association (ADA) and American Academy of Read More >

Posted on by Erinne Kennedy, DMD, MPH, MMSc3 Comments
Categories Healthcare-associated infections
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Combating Antimicrobial Resistance in Argentina: Legislation for the Future

Pictured left to right: Analía Mykietiuk (President of the Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases , Carla Vizzotti (Minister of Health), Rachel Smith (CDC), and Laura Barcelona (Director, CoNaCRA)

Argentina’s Ministry of Health is implementing the first legislation in South America using a One Health framework to combat antimicrobial resistance (AR), representing Argentina’s commitment to combating AR. Argentina is also participating in CDC’s Global Action in Healthcare Network (GAIHN) to strengthen the capacity to detect, prevent, and respond to AR. History and Development of Read More >

Posted on by Guest Authors: Laura Barcelona, Lauren Dempsey, Rachel Smith
Categories Advancing Global Healthcare Safety
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Antibiotic Stewardship when an Allergy Label is Present Improves Our Antibiotic Care and Treatment Outcomes

Did You Know? Although 10% of the population in the U.S. reports a penicillin allergy, less than 1% of the population is truly penicillin allergic. Broad-spectrum antibiotics are often used as an alternative to penicillins. The use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in patients labeled “penicillin-allergic” is associated with higher healthcare costs, increased risk for antimicrobial resistance, Read More >

Posted on by Guest Author: Cosby Stone, Jr. MD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonology, and Critical Care Medicine within the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center2 Comments
Categories Medication Safety
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Finding My Voice as a C. diff Patient

Christina Fuhrman with her daughter.

At the age of 31, I knew nothing of patient advocacy; having a voice for my own healthcare simply hadn’t crossed my mind. I’ve since learned that it is essential to include patient voices in the healthcare system. When I was prescribed a preventive antibiotic for a root canal I, like most Americans, thought nothing Read More >

Posted on by Christina Fuhrman6 Comments
Categories Healthcare-associated infections
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New Study Sets Baseline to Measure Quality of Antibiotic Prescribing in U.S. Hospitals

In Hospitals in 2015 More Than Half of antibiotic prescribing for selected events was not consistent with recommended prescribing practices. Since then, CDC and Hospitals have: Established a method and a baseline for measuring the quality of hospital antibiotic prescribing and set national targets for improvement. Expanded antibiotic stewardship programs, with 89% of U.S. hospitals meeting all 7 Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs in 2019. Received antibiotic use data from more than 2,000 hospitals through CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (up from 120 hospitals in 2015). Read More About: CDC collaborations with parterns to improve antibiotic use across all healthcare settings; http://bit.ly/AbxStewAction. HHS & CDC Logos.

Experts set national targets to improve prescribing—essential to protecting patients and slowing the rise of antibiotic resistance On March 18, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a new study in JAMA Network Open showing that in 2015, more than half of antibiotics prescribed in U.S hospitals did not follow recommended prescribing practices. Read More >

Posted on by David Hyun and Melinda Neuhauser3 Comments
Categories Uncategorized
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