Antimicrobial resistance occurs when a microorganism develops resistance to an antimicrobial medication that was once able to treat an infection by that microorganism. Patients do not become resistant to antibiotics; resistance occurs within the infecting organism.
Antimicrobial resistant organisms (AROs) result when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from the effects of antimicrobials (limit the effectiveness of these medications). This can occur via “antibiotic misuse”, such as when a patient takes antibiotics that have not been prescribed by a Healthcare Professional or when inappropriate antimicrobial medications are prescribed to a patient. Infections due to AROs cause millions of deaths each year – these infections are more difficult to treat and often require higher doses of antimicrobial drugs which can be toxic patients.
Antimicrobial resistance is a serious and growing global health threat. The loss of effective antimicrobial medications is reducing the ability of Healthcare Professionals to treat patients with infectious diseases. In response, healthcare organizations are taking steps to conserve the effectiveness of existing antibiotic and antifungal treatments through Antimicrobial Stewardship.
Antimicrobial Stewardship promotes the prudent use of antimicrobials to limit the development of AROs. SJGHEL’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) supports coordinated interventions focussed on improving and measuring the appropriate use of antimicrobials including selection, dosing, duration of therapy, and route of administration. We use a collaborative approach to the way antibiotics are prescribed and used in clinical practice and seek the best possible treatment outcomes for our patients.
