Francesco M. Labricciosa, MD, Specialist in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine
An important article has been recently published in the World Journal of Emergency Surgery.
A position paper, developed by an international multidisciplinary task force of experts, the WARNING collaborators, whose objective is to raise awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and improve antibiotic prescribing practices worldwide.
This document outlines ten axioms, or “golden rules”, that healthcare professionals should follow in their clinical practice for the appropriate use of these medications in hospital settings.
Antibiotics are life-saving medications, and therefore ensuring their correct prescription is an essential aspect of good clinical practice. The excessive and inappropriate antibiotic use is a main driver of AMR. However, in many regions of the world, there is not only overuse and misuse of antibiotics but also underuse. It is paramount to narrow the gap between excess and access.
As a matter of fact, optimising antibiotic prescribing implies improved treatment effectiveness and patient safety, minimises the risk of antibiotic-associated infections (e.g., Clostridioides difficile infection), and the selection and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in patients within and across hospitals, countries, and globally.
In January 2023, the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery established an international multidisciplinary task force to write and share a document on the need for appropriate use of antibiotics in hospitals to curb the spread of AMR.
Overall, 295 healthcare professionals with different backgrounds from 115 countries joined the WARNING (Worldwide Antimicrobial Resistance National/International Network Group) project.
In the final document, the ten golden rules for optimal antibiotic use in hospital settings have been described. They focus not only on the appropriate prescription of antibiotics, but also on the importance of Infection Prevention and Control, source control, monitoring and surveillance tools, education and awareness, and Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs.
This document confirms the mission of the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery, promoting standards of care in managing infections in surgery through a multidisciplinary and cohesive approach.
As the authors conclude, the appropriate use of antibiotics should be integral to good clinical practice, and these precious medications should be considered as a public good on the verge of scarcity.
Therefore, it is a global collective responsibility to preserve antibiotics, and avoid future deaths caused by multidrug resistant infections.
Reference
Francesco M. Labricciosa, MD, Specialist in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine
Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery 