International Panel Warns of Growing Microbe Resistance

A panel of health experts is concerned that the rate of antimicrobial resistance, especially in intensive care units (ICUs), is increasing much faster than the rate of the development of new drugs to combat infection-causing microbes. The panel convened during the 30th International Educational and Scientific Symposium of the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

According to the panel, some bacteria are now resistant to all the first-line drugs useful in the past, and outbreaks of these organisms, such as Acinetobacter, are occurring in ICUs around the world. Nearly 40% of Streptococcus pneumoniae are resistant to penicillin in parts of Europe, and worldwide 95% of staphylococci are resistant to penicillin.
According to Jean M. Carlet, M.D., co-chair of the symposium, inappropriate use of antimicrobials is a main reason why bacteria develop resistance. Medical experts at the symposium recommended a number of steps that patients, doctors, and hospitals can take to decrease antimicrobial resistance.

These steps include increasing the use of vaccines to prevent infection; correctly identifying an infection in order to prescribe the appropriate antimicrobial; beginning treatment with a broad-based antibiotic and later prescribing one that precisely targets the causative organism; using antimicrobials only when necessary, at the right dose, and for the proper duration; improving hygiene to prevent the spread of infection; and informing patients about the proper use of antimicrobials.

"In ICUs worldwide, bacterial infections are a major cause of death among critically ill patients. But the rise of antimicrobial resistance has markedly limited the number of treatment options available,” said Dr. Julie Gerberding, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, GA, USA).



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