Antimicrobial stewardship: another focus for patient safety?
Journal Article (Review)
Purpose of review
This review describes the overlapping aspects of antimicrobial stewardship and patient-safety initiatives and justifies why stewardship belongs under the umbrella of patient safety.Recent findings
Addressing the continued emergence of antibiotic resistance through the discovery of new drugs is not a sustainable strategy, particularly as antibiotics are increasingly more difficult and costly to develop. Thus, it is essential that we preserve the utility of existing antibiotics. Antimicrobial stewardship programs can assist with achieving this goal. Currently, however, the term 'antimicrobial stewardship' is generally not easily understood by regulators, hospital administrators, or the public. Perhaps more clout would be given to antimicrobial stewardship if it is associated with safety. In this review, we present concrete examples of how antimicrobial stewardship programs can focus on achieving goals already recognized as essential for patient safety.Summary
Patient safety is an integral component of antimicrobial stewardship. To make the concept of antimicrobial stewardship more palatable, the association between antimicrobial stewardship and safety needs to be emphasized.Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Tamma, PD; Holmes, A; Ashley, ED
Published Date
- August 2014
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 27 / 4
Start / End Page
- 348 - 355
PubMed ID
- 24945612
Pubmed Central ID
- 24945612
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1473-6527
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0951-7375
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1097/qco.0000000000000077
Language
- eng